White and Red
by ILikeCookiesLoads
Summary: What if Jack was more then just a little mischievous child? What if he did more then cause blizzards? How would the guardians react to the newest guardians being a murderer locked up in prison?
1. Chapter 1

The four existing Guardians stood as the moonlight shone in the crystal covering the whole room in a blue light. They all stared at the crystal eyes wide with excitement, anxiety and worry... Finally, the four recognized the spirit.

"Jack Frost?" North stepped away blinking.

Tooth and Sandy looked at each other.

"What?! Not happening! That kid..." Bunny began then stopped, shaking his head "isn't a Guardian."

North hesitated, it definitely didn't sound right. He looked up at the image again then sighed. "If Man In Moon says he is, then he is."

Jack didn't know how long he had been locked up anymore. He lost track after only two weeks. He remembered those first two weeks, he had been scared, he had struggled and cried. He didn't do that anymore. He hadn't for a long time.

He remembered being brought to the prison very clearly. He had been playing around a waterfall at the time. He would touch the top layer and see how the ice flew down the waterfall cracking into thousands of pieces and floating on the water below. It reflected the sunlight making a rainbow in the water.

Jack remembered laughing and freezing more. He hadn't seen any color but black for far too long. He wished he could see that rainbow again, as more than a memory. He remembered how he was suddenly shot by behind. At first he wasn't sure what was going on, but then he hit the water and the ice floating in it.

He definitely searched for his staff as he failed to swim. He was dragged out of the lake and thrown to his knees, he coughed up water before looking up at his attackers. Five spirits all masked. They were wearing a uniform that Jack didn't recognize.

One of them grabbed him from behind and tied his hands together behind his back. "You're under arrest," he said as he forced Jack to his feet.

Jack blinked in surprise as the spirits made sure he was well secured. They had his staff kept far away from him, magic kept his hands tightly held behind his back. He was blindfolded before he had even processed what was going on.

"We have five immortal witnesses. You have been accused of murder. Do you deny the accusation?"

Jack remained silent for a second before shaking his head "I don't deny it."

"Good, we will accompany you to the prison, if you do not deny it then there will be no questioning needed. Is that understood?"

"Yes."

He remembered the questions they asked him, he remembered the tests they did to see his physical state and powers without his staff.

He was blindfolded the whole time, he still was. He wasn't completely sure if it was the same blindfold, he could never remember having it off, so it may well be. He had chains around his wrists. They weren't too tight. They had been at first, but they had been loosened since.

He coughed as door opened, blowing dust into his face. He let out a quiet moan, pulling his knees even closer to his chest as he waited for the usual sudden energy and electric like shock. He expected he would get used to it, but no matter how much he braced himself it still felt wrong.

Everyday someone would come in and using magic Jack didn't understand or completely want to, give him the energy he would usually get from food and drink, then they would leave and that would be the closest to human contact Jack would ever get. They never even said anything to him.

Today was different though: for the first time in what felt like forever he heard someone speak. "Tie his hands behind his back, hold him tightly on either side. Check the blindfold," a female voice ordered.

Jack flinched when he was forced to his feet. He felt two big hands, one holding each of his shoulders. The chains where undone and quickly replaced with manacles holding his hands behind his back. Jack was trembling, he had not moved from that position in so long it felt strange, painful. He was also scared, he had no idea what was going on and that scared him.

"Follow me," she said and the men dragged Jack along, Jack tried to walk but every time he stumbled until finally he gave in and just let himself be dragged.

Jack tried to ask what was going on, but he just ended up coughing. His throat hurt and he wondered how long it had been since he last spoke. He used to speak on his own, he'd say something simple like 'one, two, three' so that his voice wouldn't fade. He had heard about people's voice fading and never being able to speak again. Scared of that he had used his voice every day. But slowly he ended up doing less every day until he completely gave up.

He had doubted he would ever need his voice again so what the point in keeping it. Now, he slightly regretted it, but he may still be able to speak, if he got a glass of water and managed to cough up the dust. He was a spirit after all, it took much longer than it did for humans to lose their voice.

The Guardians where standing in the room where the woman had left them. It was dark, not too dark that they couldn't see, but it definitely felt uncomfortable. There was a chair in the center of the room with chains attached and other chains dotted around the room that were normal. The woman had told them to make themselves comfortable, but none of them could bring themselves to sit down.

"North?"

"Yes Tooth?"

"You said he used to be on the naughty list, even before... you know."

"Yes, why?"

"Did you ever see him?"

"When I went to deliver coal on Christmas Eve, yes."

"What is... was he like?"

"He was... small... for his age. Very white, white skin and hair..." North tried to remember, then shrugged "I don't really remember too well, I never paid him too much attention."

"I remember meeting him..." Bunny said, "back when he was a new spirit. He was very confused back then, I didn't really know what to make of him. He didn't seem bad so I left him be, I explained a bit about how things worked, how spirits could see him even if mortals couldn't... then I left. Didn't hear anything else of him 'till the incident."

Sandy made a picture of a snowflake and a bed above his head.

"You used to give him dreams?" Tooth asked.

Sandy nodded.

"Where they... dark or scary dreams?"

Sandy shook his head some dolphins and a snowball fight.

"Why do you think he did it?"

"Who knows? He never answered that question."

They stood in silence for a bit until the door opened. The woman from before came in followed by Jack who couldn't even stand without the support of the two guards. They sat the kid down in the chair and secured him, double-checking the chains were tight.

Seeing Jack was a shock to most of the Guardians. After what he had done, they hadn't expected him to look so... young. He looked like a child, a scared and confused one. They almost felt pitiful for the kid sitting chained to the chair, shaking like a leaf. He probably hadn't been out of his cell in so long so this was a very frightening experience.

"He should behave. If he so much as struggles, call the guards immediately."

Tooth nodded. "Thank you."

"Would you like the two guards here to stay with you?" the lady asked.

North shook his head. "No, they will only scare him more."

"Not sure if that is a completely bad thing, mate," Bunny whispered.

"Does he need the blindfold?" North asked.

"If you want him to see, you may remove it," the woman said.

"Thank you, now we will talk to him alone," North said. The woman nodded and left along with the two guards, closing the big metal door behind her.

North carefully began to untie the blindfold.

"North, leave it. It's too dark to see hardly in here anyway."

North just ignored Bunny and after a few frustrating minutes managed to remove the blindfold. He smiled proudly and looked at Jack. The kid hesitated before opening his eyes. He only managed to keep them open for a few seconds before flinching and closing them tightly, letting out a small moan.

"Told you to leave it. Kids not used to seeing anything anymore."

"Well it's time he got used to it!" North shouted at Bunny looking back to Jack as he tried to open his eyes once more. He kept them open this time, his eyes moved around the room looking at nothing in particular. His eyes weren't focusing properly and all he saw were blurred colors.

"Your eyes will get back to normal soon," Tooth said, trying to sound calm as she fluttered over to get a closer look at him.

Jack opened his mouth to ask who they were and what was going on but he just ended up coughing until he needed to gasp for breath.

"Are you okay?" Tooth asked.

Jack closed his eyes for a second taking in a few deep breaths then he gave a small nod and tried to speak again "I-I..." he began to cough again, his voice was no louder than a whisper and sounded very shaky and scratchy. But in the silent prison the Guardians heard and understood. "F-fine," Jack finished, coughing again.

The Guardians looked at each other, unsure what to say. They wondered if the kid could make out their expressions with his eyes so unfocused.

"W-what..." he began to ask, then went into a coughing fit.

"-Is going on?" Tooth finished for him. He gave a small nod.

"We... came to give offer, Jack" North started. "You see, we are Guardians, Easter Bunny, Sandman, Tooth Fairy and me, Santa. We protect children."

Jack gave a small nod to say he understood.

"Recently, an old enemy of ours has returned. Pitch Black... the Boogeyman. The moon seems to think we will need your help."

Jack tried to look at them properly, his eyes refusing to obey. He tried to take everything in and after he did, one thing stuck up among the rest. "Moon?" he managed to whisper without coughing nearly as much this time.

North nodded. "He chooses guardians..."

Jack looked confused for a second before nodding. "I think... I understand."

"So, will you help us? We will give you a few days after defeating Pitch to rest before coming back here..." North offered. Bunny shook his head not liking the idea.

Jack looked doubtful and he looked around. Everything was still blurry, but he was beginning to be able to make stuff out slightly. He knew Sandy because of the gold and North because he was so close. He imagined being able to go outside and see the world. The idea of fighting was kind of scary, but it couldn't be worse than what he experiences now.

"I'll do it on two conditions," he decided.

The Guardians looked doubtful, but decided to at least hear what his conditions where first.

"What are these conditions then?" North asked.

"F-food..." Jack whispered.

North looked confused. When nobody replied, Jack decided to explain "I-I don't g-get f-food here... t-they use magic to k-keep my energy but... it h-hurts and... I-I don't like it..." he whispered looking down to hide his expression.

"I didn't know that..." North said. It surprised him to be honest, all though it was a good idea, saved time and stuff. If it was hurting Jack, it probably wasn't worth it no matter what he had done. The kid was already locked away from the world, he didn't need to be in pain as well. "We can definitely make sure they give you proper food from now on. And the second?"

Jack hesitated before he spoke "I want to visit somewhere..." he whispered lower than before.

"Where is that then?"

"B-Burgess... it's where I was born... I want to see how it's doing..." he whispered, coughing a little at the end. He was getting better.

The Guardians looked at each other hesitantly, but then decided it could be no more dangerous than letting him fight. Besides, the kid had been locked up for over a hundred years. All he wanted was to visit one place, that wasn't too bad.

"We'll have to keep a close eye on you, but you can visit your home," North said.

"Thank you," Jack said.

North smiled. "Come on. Let us get you out of here, we will ride sleigh. You like sleigh Jack?"

Jack just blinked, confused and when North headed towards the doorway, he tried to stand up for a second, forgetting about the chains. The moment they stopped him, he blinked then simply tried to turn his head enough to see North, which hurt.

North was now talking to a lady at the door who Jack guessed was the one who had told the men to hold him tightly.

"Are you sure about this? He could be dangerous..."

"There is four of us and one of him. Besides, he never put up fight when coming here, why would he fight now?"

"Because he has been locked up here for 170 years, he wants freedom and I for one believe he will do anything to get it."

"If that is the case then this prison can't be very effective."

"His never escaped..."

"No, but if when let out he is more violent then when brought in, then something hasn't been done right in here," North pointed out.

The woman frowned, but nodded. "Fine, take him, keep him as long as you like, but I will not be held responsible for any of his actions during his absence."

"Good, unchain him, I will take him now. Have somebody go get his staff please."

"You're going to give him his staff?" The woman seemed horrified.

"He's going to help us fight, he will need it."

The woman shook her head, but did as she was told. North smiled and returned to Jack, helping the kid stand as a guard unchained him. "Are you okay?" he asked, seeing how Jack struggled to keep his balance.

"Yeah, fine. I'm just out of practice..." he said looking at his feet then grinning and throwing a hand though his hair. "Never imagined I'd be out of practice for walking," he said and laughed at the strange thought. "Out for practice of walking and talking..." he whispered quietly to himself.

North chuckled. "It sounds strange," North admitted as he helped the child forwards. "You can lean on your staff in a second," North said. Tooth and Sandy stood nearby, both now calm about the kid who seemed more curious then anything. He didn't act like they expected a murdere to act.

Bunny didn't trust him, not at all. He kept a close eye on the kid, his paws on his weapons ready for anything the kid may try.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack's eyes widened when he saw his staff brought into the room. It had been so long since he had last seen it. The guard didn't look happy, but he handed it to Jack. He hesitated before grabbing it, North smiled at how Jack's eyes filled with wonder as a layer of frost covered the staff. The kid cuddled it close.

"I missed this..." he whispered to himself.

"Come," North said leading the way. Jack followed, using his staff to help him walk.

The prison seemed to go on forever, but Jack didn't care, he was looking around everywhere. His eyes were almost perfect now, things where still slightly blurry but no worse than a normal short-sighted person. Everything with color would draw Jack's attention.

"Jack?"

"Yes?" Jack asked looking up at the taller man. His eyes were full of wonder. North smiled.

"How long have you been locked up?" he asked.

Jack looked thoughtful. "I don't really know... I lost track after two weeks... it can't have been too long because my voice is already better and my eyes are nearly... if I had been in there too long they would have been much worse. I'm guessing... a few years."

North looked at him. "But how long does it feel like Jack?"

"Like forever... all my memories from before the prison feel kinda... blurry."

"I see..."

"Do you know how long it was?"

"Yes."

"How long?"

"I'll tell you later," North said with a smile. Jack was curious and tried to convince North to tell him, but there was no changing North's mind. He refused to be the one to reveal it to the kid, he didn't know how Jack would take it.

When they finally got outside, the first thing Jack did was flinch from the sudden brightness, then he looked up and his eyes brightened as he stepped outside. They were on a mountain and the wind was strong. It spun around Jack when it noticed him.

Jack laughed. "Miss me old friend?" he shouted, laughing harder as the wind got stronger. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I've missed you too..." he said as the wind lifted him a few feet off the ground, spinning around him lovingly.

North smiled at the sight. The child sure did have a strong bond with the wind, which was unusual. Usually the wind disliked those who controlled it. But then, by the looks of it, the wind was not something Jack controlled, but a companion for him.

"Feel good to be outside?" North asked.

Jack nodded. "I forgot about the wind-"

He was thrown back onto the ground. "I didn't mean it like that!" he shouted, bursting into laughter. "I meant I forgot the feeling... I could never forget you wind."

North helped Jack up. Tooth laughed at the sight. "Do you understand the wind, Jack? Does she speak to you?" Tooth asked looking curious.

"Kind of... not words like us, but I always know what she's feeling and combined with the way the wind moves I can always tell," Jack explained.

Sandy gave a nod, understanding.

Bunny continued to watch from the doorway. He didn't like how happy the kid was, but at the same time, he could not wish misery on him.

"Come Jack," North said leading the way towards the sleigh that was up the mountain. Jack let the wind carry him. He hovered about as high as North's head.

"So, who exactly is this Pitch, I mean, I know the Boogeyman, but like what does he do exactly?"

"He brings fear to children... he feeds off their fear, he kills their belief replacing it with fear."

"Being scared is not fun," Jack decided. "Is there anything I need to know about him?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean like... if he does anything hot, that would be useful information for example."

"Oh. You mean like things to look out for?"

Jack nodded.

"Well... he uses the shadows so always keep an eye on the shadows. That is the main thing."

"Simple enough."

"Trust me, that ain't simple mate. He can take the smallest shadow... your own for example, and he can create more shadows," Bunny said.

"I see... basically always be on the defensive. Because of surprise attacks."

"Yeah, that would be best," Bunny nodded.

Jack looked thoughtful. He didn't speak during the rest of the journey. It worried Bunny how fast Jack had gotten used to the light, to speaking, to moving about. Most people would be stiff for months after that amount of time. All though if Jack were stiff for months, he would be useless to them. Bunny would have at least liked for the kid to take a few hours. The kid had come out looking so weak and sickly and now he was all energetic.

"Wow..."

Bunny looked up to see they had already arrived at the sleigh. Jack obviously found the sleigh very impressive. His eyes were wide as he stared at it.

"Everyone loves the sleigh," North said, getting into the driver's seat. "Come on," he said and Tooth and Sandy sat down. Jack flew into a seat and Bunny hoped in next to Jack, the only remaining seat.

"I always imagined the sleigh to be more..."

"More?" North encouraged.

"Old looking?"

North chuckled. "No, when you need to get around whole world in one night, you keep things as new as possible. Now hold on tight."

Before Jack could react, the sleigh was moving fast towards the sky. Jack grinned, looking around as the ground got smaller and the wind stronger. Bunny was clawing at the side with an annoyed expression while Tooth and Sandy seemed to enjoy the ride.

"This is amazing!" Jack shouted jumping onto the side of the sleigh to look down.

"Stay inside the sleigh!" Bunny shouted.

"Leave him be," North said.

"He has his staff, he could just fly off if he wanted!"

"And where would I fly off to?" Jack asked, grinning, but he sat back down so as to not get told off.

"What do I know where you winter spirits go... somewhere cold."

"Everywhere I go is cold, that's why..." Jack went silent as he thought things though and looked away.

"Why what?"

"Nothing..."

Bunny was going to push it, but a glare from Tooth told him not to upset the kid. Whatever it was that upset him.

"Whoa, I remember that place," Jack said when the workshop came into view.

"Remember it?"

"Oh... I..." Jack hesitated, "found it once when I was... exploring... I was hiding away in the North Pole for the summer. I didn't know you lived here and... I found it and..."

"And?"

"The yetis didn't like me much I guess..."

North chuckled. "They are not very friendly to stranger."

"Yeah, I noticed... I hid in Antarctica after that."

"Bit further away?"

"Yeah, but wind never minded."

"Well, when you finish your prison sentence you can go to North Pole instead if you want at summer," North offered.

Jack laughed. "Sounds fun... wait... it ends?"

"What ends?"

"I always thought I was just there for life..."

"In prison?"

"Yeah."

"No one can go forever, no matter what they do..."

"Oh... I didn't know..."

"Jack...?"

"Yes?"

"How much do you know about prison... and your rights and stuff? Cause somebody should have told you that."

"I may have not been listening at the time," Jack said, all though he doubted it. He could remember everything of the first few weeks and it was horrible. He cuddled his staff close.

"Well your sentence ends... but it is long time."

"How long?"

North hesitated. "Hundreds..."

"Oh... but it ends... so... that means it's not forever."

"Little genius aren't ya mate?" Bunny said sarcastically.

Jack pointed his tongue out. "You'd be pretty slow if you spent years locked up in a dark room on your own. You run out of stuff to think about, you can only think so much and then... you run out..."

"Yeah, I can understand how a hundred years can cause you to run out of material."

"Hundred?"

"Well, hundred and seventy."

"Is that how long I was in there?"

Bunny looked away and nodded. "Yeah..."

"Whoa... that's great!"

"What? How?"

"Well, I thought it was like a few years. Even so, it felt like forever so... perhaps the time I have left won't be too bad..." Jack was way too optimistic.

Bunny shrugged. "If you wanna look at it that way, go ahead mate."

Jack laughed. "North?"

"Yeah?"

"How important are the Guardians?"

North raised an eye brow. "Very... why?"

"Because of how you just told her what to do and she did it... like... you know..."

"Like I was in charge?"

"Yeah."

"Well, Guardians are very important because we are chosen by the Moon..."

"Why do you need my help with Pitch?"

"I don't know Jack. You'd have to ask the Moon that."

"Oh... the Moon never answers me."

"What do you mean?"

"Before I was taken to prison, I used to ask the Moon every night… Ask him what to do."

"What to do...?"

"Well... you know... the Moon just sort of made me and then left me there to figure things out myself but... I had no idea."

"Made you?"

"Well, I don't know... I always supposed it was the Moon because he told me who I was."

"Jack you're confusing me."

"Well... the Moon pulled me out of my lake and then told me I was Jack Frost."

"Your lake?"

"In Burgess, where I was born."

"Oh. Where you became a spirit."

"Yeah..."

"But could you not figure out what you were meant to do by yourself?"

"How could I?"

"Well... usually the thing you do is think about what happened when you became a spirit..."

"Became a spirit?"

"You know, received your powers."

"My powers are in my staff..."

"When did you get your staff?"

"I've always had it... from the moment the Moon got my out of the lake."

"Are you saying there was nothing before that?"

"Should there have been?"

North looked at Tooth who looked at Jack.

"You have no memories of being mortal?"

"Mortal? No."

Tooth and North looked at each other. "No wonder you were so lost..." Tooth whispered. "Without memories... don't worry Jack! I'll get you your memories!"

"Not sure I fully understand..."

"Don't worry, Jack, we will explain once we return to the Pole!" Tooth said happily.

Bunny groaned. Jack looked confused and North smiled. Sandy had fallen asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

When they landed the sleigh in the Pole, Bunny was first off followed by North and Tooth. Sandy smiled at Jack, letting Jack get off first. Sandy found Jack very curious, he decided that while the kid was out of prison and with the Guardians he would try to find out the reason for Jack's actions all those years ago.

North led the way to the Globe Room. Jack looked with wide eyes up at the big shining globe covered with tiny little lights. "What's that?" he asked.

"That is Globe... every light there is a child, a child who believes," North explained. "We protect them, as Guardians."

"There's so many," Jack said flying up to take a closer look. "Some of them are... flickering?"

"Pitch," Bunny said coldly. "They shouldn't do that."

"I see..." Jack flew back, landing next to North. "So, what do we do? Do we track him down? Wait for him to attack?" Jack asked, tilting his head.

North was about to answer when Tooth suddenly let out a gasp of surprise. "Are you sure?" she asked the small fairy. It chirped loudly, desperately. Tooth looked over to the Guardians.

"I have to go, the Tooth Palace is under attack!" she shouted and vanished though a window before the others could stop her.

North eyes widened also. "To the sleigh!" he called.

"Again?" Bunny asked angrily, but he followed all the same, letting North lead the way to the lift and down to the lower floor.

"Will the Baby Teeth be okay?" Jack asked, looking at Sandy with worried eyes.

Sandy tilted his head at the worried expression and shrugged, making a question mark over his head out of dreamsand.

Jack looked sad. "I hope they're okay, I like the Baby Teeth, they're so playful and happy..." he whispered. "They were the first beings I found that saw me! Well, apart from animals... they don't count as animals, do they?"

Sandy gave a silent laugh as he climbed into the sleigh followed by Jack before shrugging as to say he wasn't sure.

"Well... they're not animals to me, anyway," Jack decided.

"What aren't animals?" North asked as the sleigh began to take off. "Reindeer are animals!" he announced, thinking Jack was talking about the reindeer pulling the sleigh.

"I know that," Jack said "I was just... never mind," he said laughing. "We'd best hurry!"

North nodded. "Tooth is strong, but we don't know what Pitch's plan is. We must be fast and help her to defend the palace!"

Jack nodded and jumped onto the side of the sleigh his eyes on the sky as they finally left the underground sleigh pen. He smiled at how beautiful the whole thing was as they flew higher into the sky. A part of him wished this could last forever, the other part knew the longer it lasted, the more damage could be done.

North brought out a magical snow globe from his coat. Jack looked up at it curiously. "What's that?"

North grinned and whispered his destination, "Tooth Palace," before throwing it into the air in front of them and they flew through, making Jack hold on tighter as suddenly they were surrounded by Nightmares.

Jack eyes widened. "They're taking the fairies!" he shouted and spotting a not yet caught fairy, jumped up, grabbing her carefully in his hands.

"You okay?" he asked landing. The fairy nodded, fear in her eyes. "Don't worry, I'll protect you," Jack reassured, running to the front of the sleigh to see what was happening.

North flew into the Tooth Palace and soon found the Nightmares attacking. "Take over," he shouted throwing the reigns to Jack who caught them, looking extremely confused.

North got up began to fight. Jack looked behind him at Bunny and Sandy hoping for some help, but both were looking at the Nightmare Sand and probably hadn't even noticed that Jack was currently driving the already unstable sleigh.

"Jack, look out!" North shouted. Jack turned around quickly and his eyes widened. He quickly moved the reigns and only just managed to land the sleigh causing everyone to fall back in their seats.

Tooth was flying around, panicking. "He... he took everything..." she whispered, her eyes wide.

The other three Guardians quickly climbed up to where she was to try and comfort her. Baby Tooth quickly flew out from inside Jack's hood and up to Tooth, chirping.

"Oh, at least one of you is all right," she whispered holding the fairy close and giving Jack a quick grateful look. Jack smiled. Pitch suddenly appeared.

"I have to say, this is very, very exciting, the Big Four all in one place... I'm a little starstruck. Did you like my show on the globe North? Got you all together, didn't I?" he said, disappearing behind the tower roof like thing.

"Pitch! You have thirty seconds to return my fairies!"

"Or what?" Pitch asked, reappearing elsewhere. "You'll stick a quarter under my pillow?"

"Why are you doing this?" North asked pointing a sword at Pitch.

"Maybe... I want what you have. To be believed in!" he shouted.

Jack's eyes widened as he fought off the desire he had once had.

"Perhaps I'm tired of hiding under beds!"

"Perhaps, that's where you belong!" Bunny shouted back.

Pitch sighed. "Go suck an egg rabbit," he said, disappearing into another shadow.

"Hang on... is that… Jack Frost?" Pitch asked, making Jack look around nervously. "To be honest, of all the spirits I expected the guardians to run to for help... you weren't on my list. I wonder what could have possibly got them to run off to prison to drag you out to their rescue?"

"Pitch... it's not worth it!" he shouted, surprising everyone.

"What isn't?"

"Whatever your planning on doing! Not being believed in is nothing in comparison to what they'll do to you if you do something bad," Jack whispered, thinking of the prison.

Pitch watched Jack with a bored expression as Jack finally spotted him. "Oh, so many years in prison must have done so much to your little mind... you know what, I'm going to ignore you," he said beginning to walk off. "But you must be used to that by now," he added.

Jack took a step back, feeling almost hurt by the comment. But before he could reply, Bunny ran past him, almost knocking him over, shouting at Pitch, ready to attack. Pitch vanished before Bunny could reach him, but Tooth swooped down, taking his boomerang off of him and dashing towards where Pitch now stood, grinning at the Guardians.

Before Tooth could attack, a giant scary horse appeared, scaring Tooth and Baby Tooth, who hid back behind Jack's hood. Pitch laughed as he calmed down his precious Nightmare. "Look familiar Sandman? Took me a while to perfect this little trick. Turning dreams into nightmares... don't be nervous, it only riles them up more. They smell fear, you know."

"What fear? Of you! Ha! Nobody's been afraid of you since the dark ages!" Bunny shouted taking his boomerang back from Tooth.

"Oh, the dark ages! Such good times... everyone scared, miserable, such happy times for me. But then you came along with your wonder and light. Lifting their hearts and giving them hope! Meanwhile everybody just marked me as a bad dream 'Oh there's no such thing as the Boogeyman!' Well that's all about to change!" he said and laughed a little as the Tooth Palace began to fall apart. "Oh, it's happening already."

"What is?" Jack asked, looking around confused.

"Children are waking up and realizing, the Tooth Fairy never came. Such a small thing, but to a child…" Pitch explained, looking proud of himself.

"What's going on?" Jack asked, even more confused.

"T-They don't believe in me anymore," Tooth whispered.

Jack's eyes widened and he looked up at Pitch. Jack had always wanted belief, but never enough to want to take it from another spirit. Or at least that's what he wanted to feel.

"Didn't they tell you Jack? Being a Guardian's great! But there's a catch! If enough kids stop believing, all the things your friends protect, Wonder, Hopes and Dreams, it all goes away. And little by little... so do they. No Easter or Christmas or little fairies that come in the night. There will be nothing but fear, and darkness... and me. It's your turn not to be believed in!"

At the moment, Bunny attacked. Pitch was quick to get on his Nightmare and flee, jumping off the edge of the palace. The other Guardians immediately gave chase. Jack hesitated a second before following. Bunny threw his egg bombs, but it was too late, Pitch got away.

They landed on the ground on their feet. Jack fell last, he would have been okay had his legs not been so weak and given way when he touched the ground. North looked around. "He's gone," he said, before helping Jack up. "You okay?"

Jack nodded, standing up straight. "Out of practice," he whispered.

"Didn't look out of practice to me." Bunny whispered.

Soon Bunny and North where arguing. Seeing Tooth staring down at the teeth with Baby Tooth by her side, Jack went over to see her.

"Why would Pitch take the teeth?" he asked.

"It's not the teeth he wants, it's the memories inside them... Remember I said I would give you your memories back, Jack? We collect the teeth because they hold the most important memories of childhood, when a child needs to remember, we help them..."

She flew over to the picture on the wall. "We had everyone's here, even yours."

"I still don't really understand that... From what you said in the sleigh, it sounded like..."

"You were somebody else before Jack Frost?"

Jack nodded, looking up at Tooth.

"You were, Jack. We all were... oh I wish I had your teeth, I could show you... help you."

Jack looked confused, but he forgot about it the moment the picture began to vanish. "What's going on?" he asked.

"It's too late..." Tooth whispered.

"No!" North shouted, making Jack jump onto a rock "It is never too late!" North shouted. Seeing the determination of the Russian made Jack feel just as determined as he watched him try to think of a plan. "Idea!" North shouted pointing his sword at Bunny, barely missing. "''We'' will collect the teeth!"

"What?" Tooth looked confused.

"We get teeth, children keep believing in you!"

"We're talking seven contents, millions of kids!"

"Give me break, do you know how many presents I deliver in one night?"

"And how many eggs I hide in one day?"

"Plus, we have Jack here," North pointed out.

"And we can get you your memories back, Jack," Tooth said, smiling at him.

Jack grinned. "I'm in."

The Guardians raced through the skies, Bunny running on the roof, North jumping form chimney to chimney, Sandy flying like Jack. Tooth was shouting out where each tooth was while Bunny and Jack seemed to argue. North enjoyed the challenge. Sandy smiled, seeing how everyone enjoyed themselves.

Tooth bumped into a sign, making Jack smile and fly to her. "You okay?"

"Yeah, it's been a long time since I've been out on the field," she said.

"How long is a long time?" Jack asked with a grin.

"Four hundred and forty years?" she said smiling and suddenly flying past Jack to grab a tooth, leaving him with a surprised expression. Jack looked over to Baby Tooth who shrugged, looking slightly embarrassed by Tooth's behavior.

Jack immediately started collecting the teeth just like everyone else. Bunny felt the urge to stop him for a second. He didn't trust the kid being so close to children, but then as he saw how Jack took the challenge, he decided he would just have to keep a close eye on the kid.

After having collected the teeth and delivered presents, they moved onto the next country. Everyone was enjoying themselves, especially Jack. He had completely forgotten about the horrible prison which he would return to when this was over. All he could think of was how much fun he was having. Nobody noticed the Nightmare spying on them.

It was nearing the end of the night and Jack was with Tooth as she placed a quarter under Jamie's pillow. "This was always the part I liked most... seeing the kids," Tooth whispered. "Why did I ever stop doing this?"

Jack wondered the exact same thing. If he could do this every night he definitely would. "It's a little different up close, isn't it?"

"Thanks for being here, Jack... I wish I'd known about your memory. I could have helped you. Maybe you wouldn't have done such horrible things."

Jack hesitated, then shook his head. "I doubt it would have made a difference," he whispered.

Tooth was about to reply when North appeared, pushing in through the window. "Here you are!" Sandy was by his side and so was Baby Tooth.

"Sh!" Tooth pointed to Jamie.

"Oh, what gives? Slowpokes," North whispered. "How you feeling today?"

"Believed in!"

"Ha! That's what I wanted to hear."

Suddenly Bunny appeared form downstairs. "Oh, I see how it is! All working together and making sure the bunny gets last place!"

Both North and Tooth shushed him at the same time, surprising him.

"You think I need help to beat a bunny?" Jack asked, smirking, showing his bag of teeth.

"You call that a bag of choppers? This is a bag of choppers!" Bunny said showing him his bag.

"Boys, this is about Tooth, it's not a competition.. but if it was I win!" he shouted throwing his bag down and jumping up in the air, effectively waking up Jamie who turned his flashlight on, staring at the Guardians.

"Santa Clause... the Easter Bunny... the Sandman... the Tooth Fairy... I knew you'd come!" Jamie shouted excitedly.

Tooth laughed. "Surprise! We came!" Tooth shouted smiling awkwardly.

"He can see us?" Jack asked, his eyes filled with wonder at the sight of the child. It had been so long since he had seen a child, but the wonder was replaced with sadness as Bunny reminded Jack he was invisible.

"Most of us..." All of the Guardians looked at Jack, slightly sad for him.

"You guys, he's still awake!" Tooth complained.

"Sandy, knock him out," Bunny instructed, then seeing Sandy punch his hand, "with the dream sand ya gumby!" Suddenly, Jamie's dog woke up and growled at Bunny.

"All right, nobody panic!"

Jack, seeing his chance to get his 'revenge' on Bunny, grinned. "But, that's a greyhound. Do you what greyhounds do to bunnies?"

"Well, he ain't met a bunny like me," Bunny said, looking ready to fight.

Sandy rolled his eyes, preparing some dreamsand.

"Six foot one, nerves of steel, master of tai chi," Bunny said.

Jack also rolled his eyes and with a careful bop, set off the alarm clock, immediately making the dog attack. Sandy panicked and threw the dream sand. It jumped around the room and by the end, everyone but him and Jack were asleep and dreaming.

"Oops," Jack said from his spot on top of the drawers. Jack laughed at the scene. "This is the funniest thing I've seen in forever," he said, seeing the carrot dance around with the candy cane.

Sandy rolled his eyes looking at Jack as he tucked Jamie into bed. His eyes widened as he saw he Nightmare right behind Jack at the window. Jack turned around just in time to see it flee. Jack looked surprised for a second, then smiled and gave chase.

"Come on Sandy! We can find Pitch!" he called out.

Sandy hesitated for a second, looking at the others, but then realized he couldn't let the kid out on his own. Whether for his safety or the safety of others, Sandy wasn't completely sure.

Sandy couldn't help but enjoy himself as he chased down the two Nightmares side by side with Jack. Jack was laughing as he jumped about, letting out the energy he had hidden away for so long. Soon Sandy managed to catch one, turning it into dreamsand and riding on it.

Jack kept chasing the other one until he hit it with his ice. "I got it!" he shouted, excited and he went to look at it. He poked it with his staff. "Sandy! Sandy did you see that?" he called out excitedly, laughing as he poked it again. "Look at this thing..."

"Frost," Pitch said, causing Jack to jump and he looked at Pitch now standing behind him. Jack tried to attack, but Pitch moved away. "You know, you sure so spend an awful lot of time with those weirdoes."

"Not like I have another choice," Jack whispered as he thought of the prison.

"This isn't your fight, Jack," Pitch said.

"Perhaps not, but I'm free to help out who I want.

"But they're your enemies, Jack. Did they ever tell you who the witnesses were? The people who got you thrown in that prison?"

Jack pointed his staff at Pitch, trying to ignore him.

"Did you know one of them was the pesky Bunny?" he asked.

Jack's eyes widened and he looked surprised. "What?"

Pitch grinned. "Didn't think so," he said, then suddenly spotted Sandy glaring at him and jumped to the side. He laughed a little. "Now this is who I'm looking for."

Sandy glared, before getting out his sand whips and attacking. Pitch dodged a few. before one of them gabbed his hand, threw him about, then off the roof and onto the road.

"Wow," Jack said, eyes wide as he looked over to Sandy who came to stand next to him, smiling up at the kid.

"Easy! Sandy, I'm sorry, you can't blame me for trying! You don't know what it's like to be weak and hated!" he shouted. "Unlike Jack, over there," he added more quietly. "It was stupid of me to mess with your dreams! So, I'll tell you what: you can have them back," he said coldly and Nightmares began to surround the two.

Jack and Sandy looked around them. "You take the ones on the left I'll take the ones on the right?" Jack asked, unsure.

Sandy shrugged, looking slightly worried. Pitch appeared riding one of the Nightmares. Sandy prepared his whips. "Boo," Pitch said, signaling the Nightmares to attack. Sandy attacked alongside Jack and suddenly the sleigh appeared. It almost crashed, waking up all the sleeping Guardians fully. Sandy took advantage of the distraction to fly up into the air with Jack and so the fight began.

Jack fought off Nightmares with his staff, hitting and freezing them as fast as he could. Tooth flew up to help him. Bunny jumped onto the roofs using his boomerangs to fight off Nightmares while Pitch finally flew up into the sky. North stood on his sleigh fighting of the Nightmares that dare to attack him. Bunny had by now jumped back onto the sleigh.

Jack let himself fall to dodge and attack, but as another attack came, he dropped his staff. Fear filled him as he tried to grab it, memory of the last time he fell filled his head and he closed his eyes tightly. Bunny saw this. Quickly telling North, they managed to catch Jack in the sleigh.

"You okay, mate?"

Jack nodded. "Thanks," he said grabbing his staff.

Sandy, meanwhile, was fighting off the Nightmares that surrounded him, coming from all directions. Jack's eyes widened. "We have to help Sandy!" he shouted. Pitch prepared an arrow made of Nightmare Sand and with a careful aim, he shot the Sandman.

Jack's eyes widened. "No!" he shouted and he jumped into the air, flying as fast as he could towards the dying Sandman, determined to help.

Pitch laughed. "I'd say sweet dreams... but there aren't any left," Pitch taunted as the Sandman finally faded into Nightmare Sand.

Jack stopped for a second. "No... no!" His eyes filled with anger and with all his strength he flew towards Pitch. Pitch looked at Jack, bored, before raising a huge tidal wave of Nightmares, all flying towards Jack. All the Guardians, even Bunny, looked at Jack, terrified for the younger spirit.

Jack realized his mistake too late. He stopped in his tracks as the Nightmares all crashed into him. Jack closed his eyes as pain filled him as he was pushed about by the Nightmares and suddenly, without his choice, he let out a huge amount of power, freezing the Nightmares.

At first this power flew in every direction until Jack managed to face it at Pitch, the ice force making its way up to the Nightmare King and knocking him down. Jack's eyes widened and filled with tears as he remembered the last time this had happened and the consequences of it. But, before he could fully understand, he was falling though the sky.

Tooth gasped and quickly flew up, catching him before he hit the ground and carefully placing him on the sleigh "Jack... how did you do that?"

Jack closed his eyes tightly. Taking in a few deep breaths, he pulled his staff close and shook his head, trying to chase the memories away. Bunny stared at Jack, his eyes wide and filled with fear. He had seen this before. "He shouldn't be that powerful!" he complained. "They were supposed to drain his energy in that stupid prison!"

"My energy is in my staff," Jack whispered.

"Then they should have broken it... no burned it!"

Jack's tear filled eyes widened with fear and he held his staff even closer.

"Bunny!" Tooth shouted, "he was fighting Pitch! Why would you say that?!" she challenged Bunny, staring in the eyes as she poked him.

"That kid is a murderer! He may be using that power to fight Pitch now, but later..."

"Later I'll be back in prison," Jack whispered, his eyes on Bunny. "You know that."

Bunny glared at him. "Not soon enough."

Tooth clenched her fists and flew over to Jack. "Are you okay?" she whispered, eyes filled with worry. She had just seen Sandy die, the realization of Pitch's power scared her. Jack pulled away and leaned over the edge, looking at the woods bellow him, spotting his frozen lake for just a second and wondering whether North would let him visit it in the end.


	4. Chapter 4

The three Guardians and many yetis and elves stood mourning the loss of their oldest Guardian. Jack stayed far away. Sat by a window, he preferred to be alone during sad times. He stared outside at the snow as he remembered the dreams he had gotten before the prison. He remembered getting woken up once, inside the prison, the guards asking about golden sand.

The memory made Jack smile: even after having committed murder, Sandy still tried to give him dreams. Then again, perhaps Sandy had not yet been informed about the murder. Maybe that was why he attempted to deliver the sweet dream to the cold winter spirit.

Jack sighed and touched the glass, a picture of Sandy forming out of frost. Jack did like the Sandman. Always so smiley and creative. Even when Jack couldn't sleep and didn't dream, watching the children's dreams was enough to keep him happy. He felt tears fill his eyes.

"Jack?" North asked coming over to the kid, Jack looked up and rubbed his eyes, laying his back on the wall to look up at North. "Are you okay?"

Jack nodded. "Just sad... Sandy was nice to me. Even when nobody else was."

"Sandy was sad... when you were locked up. I remember him questioning Bunny for every detail, he refused to simply accept what you had done until you admitted to it. Then he left it be... but he never truly blamed you. I think he clung to the belief that you had a reason to do what you did."

"Do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Believe I had a reason to do it?"

"At first I just thought you where insane, that all those years alone had done it's damage... but now I'm not sure. You seems pretty sane to me."

Jack gave a small smile. "Yeah, pretty sure I'm not insane."

"So, did you have a reason?"

Jack frowned. "I did," he confirmed.

"Want to share it?"

"Not really..."

"Why not? You know, no reason could be worse than no reason, even being jealous or angry is better than no reason," North said.

"It isn't that... it is complicated."

"Jack... I'm sure I'm smart enough to understand."

Jack smiled "I didn't mean it like that."

"Then what?"

"It's just... it's a strange situation, I wish I could tell you. But I promised I would keep quiet."

North's eyes widened. "Promised who?"

Jack looked away, realizing his mistake. "It's nothing."

"Jack... if this is blackmail or something like that..."

"It's nothing like that!" Jack interrupted. "Just leave it be... please."

North looked at Jack, who was staring out the window cuddling his knees. "Jack..." North whispered trying to reach out for the child, but he flinched and North backed away. "If you gave a motive, you may be able to reduce your time in prison... you must be desperate to get out by now?"

"Not that desperate," Jack said, closing his eyes and looking down.

North sighed. "You sure?"

Jack nodded and North decided he should probably leave the child be. They had enough to think about as it was without adding a mystery to solve to the list. Although North would not forget about this, he was going to find out the reason for Jack's actions before taking the kid back to the prison. No matter what it takes.

The four spirits approached the globe. Tooth frowned. "Look at how fast they're going out..." she whispered as Jack flew up to get a better look.

"It's fear... he's tipped the balance," he said, looking at the beautiful little lights.

"Hey, buck up you sad sacks," Bunny said, jumping up onto the table so as to be seen better. "We can still turn this around. Easter is tomorrow! And I need your help, I say we pull out all the stops and we get those little lights flickering again!" he said turning to look at the Globe.

Everyone cheered up a bit at the thought. Bunny was right, if they could play their cards right, it may not be over yet.

They were going down the lift, all four of them when North spoke. "Bunny is right! As much as it pains me old friend, this time Easter _is_ more important than Christmas."

Bunny's mouth dropped open. His eyes wide, he looked over to Jack and Tooth. Jack smiled and shrugged as if confirming that what North had just said was for real. Bunny looked excited. "Did everyone hear that?"

"We must hurry to the Warren. Everyone, to the sleigh!"

"Oh no, mate. My Warren, my rules." He gave a smirk. "Buckle up," he said as he tapped the floor with his big feet and a hole big enough for all the Guardians and two yetis and an elf opened up below their feet.

Jack only just managed to remain on his feet and land on them as they got out of the tunnel. Tooth giggled as North stood up. "'Buckle up.' It is very funny."

Bunny smiled. "Welcome, to the Warren," he said sounding proud of himself. Suddenly, his ears twitched and he turned to face a tunnel. "Something's up," he said as he got his boomerangs out.

The other Guardians immediately prepared their weapons as well. They all let out a battle cry as they charged, having to quickly halt when a young girl ran out, chasing Bunny's eggs.

"Sophie?" Jack asked looking confused then quickly hiding his weapon. The others quickly did the same as him, grinning awkwardly.

"What is she doing here?" Bunny demanded, "and how did you know her name?" Bunny turned on Jack, who took a step back.

"I... was in her house with Tooth. She's Jamie's sister. I was looking at his pictures and there was a family picture with names..."

"Snow globe..." North said realizing its absence.

"Crickey! Somebody do something!"

"Well, don't look at me, I'm invisible, remember?" Jack said, throwing his arms up innocently.

"Don't worry Bunny, I bet she's a fairy fan!" Tooth said flying over, immediately distracting Sophie.

"Pretty!" she said, eyes wide as she looked up at Tooth.

"Aww, you know what? I've got something for you! Here it is," she said holding out her hand filled with teeth. "Look at all the pretty teeth with little blood and gum on them," she said.

Sophie's eyes widened and she let out a shriek of disgust as she ran away. Jack couldn't help but laugh. "Blood and gums? When was the last time any of you actually took the time to hang out with kids? I've been locked up for almost two hundred years and know better," he said, flying over to sit on top of the egg that had all the little eggs hiding under it.

"Peek a boo!" Sophie shouted scaring all the eggs out from under the egg.

"We are very busy bringing joy to children," North said as Bunny got all his eggs to hide behind him, glaring at Sophie. "We don't have time... for children," he said making Bunny look at him. And then they all realized how stupid that sounded.

"If one child can ruin Easter... then you're in worse shape than I thought," Jack said, carefully shaping one of his beautiful snowflakes. He had gone so long without making one he hoped they still worked as he blew it of his hand. It landed on Bunny's nose.

Minutes later Bunny was playing with Sophie as he prepared Easter. "How?" North asked, looking at Jack, who bowed down.

"Just a little trick I've learnt. Wasn't sure it would still work, but seems like it does," he said grinning proudly as he looked at Bunny.

"Very well done!" he said laughing.

Jack turned his attention then to the amount of eggs. He whistled. "How much time do we have?"

Bunny just laughed. "Okay troops, it's time to push back, that means eggs everywhere!" he shouted as Sophie rode on his back, laughing happily.

"Okay... that's a little strange" North said looking at one of the walking eggs.

"No mate, that's adorable," Bunny corrected, smiling.

Sophie danced on, as if leading a parade, which, with all the eggs following her, was definitely what it looked like. "There will be spring time every continent! And I'm bringing hope with me!"

Bunny and Sophie headed towards the main opening to the tunnels, the eggs slowly making their way through each tunnel. Bunny smiled at Sophie. He didn't stop smiling, not even when Jack Frost came to take a look. In fact, he didn't feel anything against the winter spirit. Not at that very moment.

"Not bad" Jack said, as Sophie climbed into Bunny's arms and fell asleep.

"Not bad yourself," Bunny said, to Jack's surprise. Bunny couldn't help but smiling when he saw Jack's eyes fill with hope at the words.

"Jack... I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I-I... guess I let my emotions get the worst of me."

Jack smiled. "No problem, I mean... last time my emotions got the best of me, I did much worse."

"Was that... when you did it? The murder?"

"No... that was... something else."

At that moment, the other Guardians arrived and Bunny decided to drop the subject. "Poor ankle biter, worn out," Bunny said.

"I love her!" Tooth said taking her from Bunny. "I'll need to take her back.

"Want me to come with you?" Jack offered. "Dangerous for you to go alone."

Tooth looked at him, then to Bunny. "He's probably the best at fighting Pitch, he'd be perfect if Pitch did choose to attack you," Bunny said.

Tooth smiled and nodded. "Come on," she said to Jack. Baby Tooth flew into Jack's hood.

Tooth carefully placed Sophie on her bed once they got back to the house. She turned to leave when the child rolled off her bed, making Jack laugh.

"Sophie, is that you?" Sophie's mom called up.

Jack quickly threw the blanket and toy on the floor, flying outside, followed by Tooth. He smiled at her as he carefully closed the window. Baby Tooth chirped happily, flying out of his hood.

"Went smoothly," he said flying off to go back to the Warren when, suddenly, he paused.

"Jack!" called a familiar voice, making Jack's eyes wide. There were familiar voices, where were they?

"That voice... I know that voice," he whispered.

"Jack? What are you talking about?" Tooth asked, looking confused.

"It's coming from this way!" he shouted and flew of quickly, followed by Tooth and Baby Tooth.

"Jack!" Tooth shouted as Jack landed on the forest ground, looking towards the old bed.

"It's coming from there!" he whispered, flying over and looking down.

"Jack, what's down there?"

"Can't you hear it? The voices?"

Tooth shook her head, eyes filled with worry, believing the young kid was losing his mind. Jack saw this and looked back to the bed. "I'm sure they're real" he whispered and raised his staff breaking the wood before jumping down the hole.

"Jack!" Tooth complained, following him down.

Baby Tooth tried to pull him away, but he looked up at the cages, "Pitch," he whispered.

Tooth's eyes widened. "You found Pitch's lair," she whispered and flew up to the cages. "Don't worry," she said to her fairies. "I will get you out," she reassured.

Jack looked around. He still heard the voice. "Jack! Jack!" He turned around in circles and suddenly he spotted a shadow that drew his attention. He flew up to investigate and suddenly gave chase when he saw Pitch. Baby Tooth saw this and quickly followed Jack.

Tooth didn't notice as she carefully freed each and every one of her fairies.

Jack shot a blast of ice, hitting the wall. He ran faster. "Pitch!" he shouted when he finally spotted him walking across a bridge.

"How nice of you to visit, Jack. I've been waiting for you."

"Is that so?"

"Yes Jack. Your fear intrigues me."

"I'm not scared of you."

"Perhaps not, but what does scare you is most interesting."

"Is that so?"

"It is," Pitch said as the floor gave out underneath Jack, causing him to drop his staff. Fear filled him as he searched for it, calming as soon as he had it back in his hands. He stood up and flew around, somewhere in between chasing and being chased by Pitch.

"You're scared, scared you won't ever get out of that horrible prison. That is a normal fear. But stronger than that fear is the fear that nobody will ever forgive you for what you did. Fear that you will never forgive yourself. Fear that someone will discover your reasons for doing so."

"Shut up!" Jack shouted.

"You fear nobody will ever see you, that you will always be unseen and unheard, just like before that murder. You fear you will never know why the Man In The Moon chose you to be a spirit..."

Jack's eyes filled with tears as Pitch appeared in front of him and Jack backed against the wall, eyes wide with fear.

"Well Jack, if you want to know who you are, what you need to do... then all you need, is this," Pitch said holding out Jack's teeth. Jack looked at them, but didn't grab them he looked away from them, away from Pitch.

Pitch laughed and vanished as Jack looked confused and ran. Soon Jack found himself surrounded by shadows, taunting shadows. "You want to grab them don't you? You want to know your past so much, your reason for existing... but you're scared of what the Guardians will think. Let me put your mind to rest, they will never care for you. They got you out of that prison only to get rid of me and they plan to send you back there the moment I am gone."

"I-I know that... and it doesn't matter! Because helping them... it's the right thing to do!"

"Is it Jack? Do you really deserve this... you have spent over two mortal lifetimes locked up in that place... alone, nobody ever even spoke to you. Never even looked at you."

"I deserve it... I am a murderer," Jack whispered, cuddling himself.

"But that doesn't mean you should be locked away, left to rot alone... you did what you did for a reason, didn't you?"

"Shut up!" Jack shouted "I deserved what I got! I deserve it..." he whispered, and broke into tears.

"Jack," Pitch whispered and suddenly cuddled Jack. "You don't, I can save you from the prison. I can protect you, keep you from being locked up again," Pitch said, looking into Jack's eyes.

"Why?"

Pitch placed the teeth in Jack's hands. "Look at them, after you see them, you will see that you don't deserve it Jack..."

Jack looked at the teeth, confused. He wanted to know so much, but it was Pitch who told him to look at them, was it worth it? Could he trust Pitch? He turned the tooth box and looked at the kid facing him, brown hair and eyes looked up at him. But the same smirk. Jack smiled and looked at the box.

"You just run your finger along the diamond pattern," Pitch instructed and after hesitating for a few seconds, Jack did as he was told. His eyes widened as his head filled with long lost memories. Memories of a family, a sister, a sister he had saved from icy cold water.

Jack laughed, his eyes wide. "I had a family," he whispered, smiling.

"You protected your family," Pitch said to Jack, smiling at him as if proud.

"You knew?"

"I was there, when you saved her. Your fear was so strong. The way you fought to hide it. I was surprised when you were left alone, I expected the other spirits to welcome you with love. To know already of what you had done... nobody knew, not even you. It saddened me, but what could I do? I was hiding away back then..."

"You were... there?"

"Yes and when I saw the fear and sadness on your face, saw how lonely you where... I knew one day, you would come to me."

"Go to you?"

"Yes Jack. Who else would you go to? Who else would understand you? Understand the fear you felt when you realized what you had done, understand the loneliness you felt throughout all those years... understand how little you knew of yourself. We're the same Jack... that's why I want to protect you. I won't let them lock you up again," Pitch said cuddling Jack.

Jack felt an urge to push away, but it only stayed for a second before he cuddled Pitch back. "Thank you..." Jack whispered.

Baby Tooth watched from up high, her eyes wide. She quickly flew back to Tooth, as fast as she could, unsure what to say. Unsure what had just happened. Jack was not evil, was he? She knew Jack had been a murderer, but that was long ago... was Pitch controlling him?

Baby Tooth shook her head. She would explain it in every detail to Tooth. She would know what was going on and what to do about it. She would know everything. She spotted Tooth just as Tooth was about to search for her and Jack.

"There you are! All the others are out safely.. where's Jack?" she asked, looking around expecting to see Jack right behind Baby Tooth.

Baby Tooth frowned and carefully touching Tooth's cheek, let Tooth see the horrible and recent memory. Tooth gasped, her eyes wide. "We have to tell the others," she whispered and flew out of the lair, followed by Baby Tooth.

Baby Tooth hesitated for one second, staring back to the base. She was about to fly off with Tooth when she shook her head and flew back towards the bed. "I will protect Jack. I know he won't let Pitch hurt me," Baby Tooth chirped to Tooth before disappearing.

Tooth wanted to fly after the fairy, but knew she could not change the fairy's decision. "Good luck!" she called out, leaving.

**A/N (Author Note): **

**I wanted to quickly thank SkyHighFan who went though and corrected all chapter up to date. **

**I also want to mention that I have several possible endings planned out... none of which fit in with what I did in this chapter. This chapter sort of came out of nowhere. **

**So anyway, thanks for reading! **


	5. Chapter 5

Baby Tooth was cautious as she searched for Jack. When she found him, she panicked. Jack was lying still, silent. She chirped and poked him. He woke up sitting up, then Baby Tooth realized he was on a bed... he was just resting. She sighed with relief.

"Baby Tooth?" Jack whispered, sitting up. He smiled at her grabbing her cautiously. "You came back to me," he whispered.

Baby Tooth chirped and cuddled him, crossing her arms and chirping as if scolding him before lying down next to him, making sure the bed was comfortable, Baby Tooth preferred her nest, but it wasn't bad.

Jack laughed. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean for you to stay here too... but I'm better off here, you know? The prison is horrible Baby Tooth... I'll do anything to stay away from it," he whispered, slightly guilty.

Baby Tooth hesitated, then nodded, patting his hand so as to say she understood.

"Thanks, Baby Tooth, I appreciate your company..." he said picking her up. He lay on his back and placed on his stomach where he could see her. "I've been thinking of something..."

Baby Tooth tilted her head curiously.

"You aren't scared around me... do you know what I did?" he asked. Baby Tooth nodded, but Jack told her anyway. "I killed someone... took away an innocent life..."

Baby Tooth just chirped and cuddled up to him. She didn't believe Jack was some cold blooded murderer, he would have a reason for his actions. She knew it.

Jack sighed. "You really trust me, don't you?" he whispered. Baby Tooth nodded. Jack sighed. "I've never had anybody trust me before... you know... I've kept the truth hidden so long... would you... would you like to know about it? The murder... the motive?" he whispered.

Baby Tooth's eyes widened, Jack had refused to tell the motive when in questioning and had not told the Guardians either, yet he wanted to tell her? She nodded; she wanted to know, not just because it would be an amazing discovery on her part, but also because she was curious and worried about Jack.

Jack smiled. "I'm not sure if you'll believe me, but... I suppose there's no harm in telling you anyway, right?" Baby Tooth just smiled.

North sat down in a big armchair in front of a warm fire, Tooth sat nearby and Bunny curled up a bit closer. All were in a terrible state. North could barely move, Tooth could barely move her wings and Bunny was adorable. Tooth had believed rescuing her fairies to be the best thing they had done, but when she returned to the Earren to find egg shells everywhere, she realized it was not so.

The three now over exhausted Guardians were trying to make up a plan, Tooth had told them what Baby Tooth had said about Jack.

"We should have never let him out, should have left him locked up for another few hundred years."

"The Man In The Moon told us he is Guardian!"

"If I were to do as he did, you would have me locked up too! And I would not blame you."

"Depends on your motive, Bunny."

"The kid had no motive... that's what scared so many spirits."

"He must have had one... Bunny, what exactly did you see?"

"I told you... it's not something I want to think about."

"But you're thinking about it right now and have been ever since we got him out. Might as well just think out loud," Tooth pointed out.

"It is true Bunny that it would help. If you are right about Jack, we will need to know how he kills," North pointed out, looking at the little bunny curled up in front of the fireplace.

Bunny sighed and looked at the other two. "Are you sure you want to hear this?"

Both nodded, looking at each other before back at Bunny who hopped a little closer before standing on his two back legs and starting the story.

"It was spring, we were having a meeting, me and all other spirits who helped out with spring," he explained. "There was five of us there, three left to arrive. We were about to start the meeting, taking it they were busy... and then, we heard a scream of horror.

We got up and ran. I was the fastest, obviously. I ran into a clearing, there was blood staining the lovely green grass... they were dead, ice clung to their bodies, freezing them and piercing though their flesh... it was... horrible. I saw the kid standing over them like nothing, his hood up, I could see a bit of his white hair and see how he kicked them, forcing them onto their back to look at his words... I attacked but he flew off, holding the staff in his hands..."

"Why would he do that?" Tooth whispered. "Did he look angry?"

"I never saw his face."

"You never saw his face? Then how could you be sure it was him?"

"He admitted to the murder, Tooth. There are few winter spirits as it is, especially like Jack."

Tooth sighed and sat down thinking of the story. "There must have been a reason..." she whispered, eyes on the floor. "People don't just kill without reason..."

"Well he did," Bunny said.

North also looked confused. "The boy let out ice when he was angry..."

"Perhaps, but those spring spirits were calm. If Jack was angry, it was over something stupid!"

Tooth sighed, her thoughts still on Jack and slightly worried about Baby Tooth after hearing the story, but as she thought of Jack's reactions to Sandy's death, she knew Baby Tooth was safe. She just couldn't understand why Jack had done what he had done.

Jack made himself comfortable and began to tell Baby Tooth about his most horrible memory. "It was just a normal day for me; I was flying through the clouds with the wind when I decided to visit Old Man Winter... I know what you're thinking, but I didn't intend to kill him. I went to visit him, I did this often, and he was nice to me and taught me very much..."

Baby Tooth looked confused, tilting her head, trying to figure out where this was going.

"I landed in front of a completely frozen waterfall; Old Man Winter stood looking up at it... I thought it was beautiful. I flew over and stood next to him, smiling up at him:

'Hi!'

'Hello... Jack, it is nice to see you, have you been busy today?'

'I spread snow over an entire country! It was amazing!'

'Well done, my boy. You must be tired.'

'I am never tired!'

'Is that so?'

'Yep.'

'Jack... you remind me so much of my own children and grandchildren...'

'You had a family? I mean... I always thought... like me...'

'I'm sorry Jack about your lack of family, but yes, I had one... then I became the winter spirit who I am today and I have not seen them in hundreds of years...'

'I'm so sorry...'

'Jack?'

'Yes?'

'Can I ask a favour from you?'

'Anything!'

I jumped at the idea of helping him, he had helped me so much and I never expected what came next. It scared me but... I couldn't say no.

'I want you to push me into the lake; I want you to freeze the water over.'

'P-Pardon?'

'I know it's a lot to ask, but I am desperate! I miss my family and cannot bring myself to do it. Don't worry Jack, it will be okay..."

Baby Tooth's eyes were wide. What was Jack telling her? This was not right!

"I had no choice... I could not refuse. I broke the ice that had already been formed and he stood by the side. I was shaking, like a leaf, I know. He smiled at me and hugged me. He said it would be okay...

'Listen Jack: most likely nobody will ever find out about this, nobody will hurt you... but Jack, I must request that if you are ever asked, if you know why I died, do not tell them. I don't want them to know this was how I left this world rather than bravely fighting in a war or something of the kind...'

I nodded, but he made me promise... I'm breaking that promise now, I know, but it hurts so much, to think that everyone believed I killed him, they probably think I wanted to take his place... I did as I was told, I pushed him in and froze the water. He struggled, then whispered a 'thank you' before going still. I was quick to fly away, I found somewhere to hide and cry...

When they came for me, I was trying to freeze a waterfall..." Jack smiled for only a second. "I never gave a motive, too scared to break my promise, all though I know I probably wouldn't be locked up for as long if they knew... I will do as I was told."

Baby Tooth was wide eyed as she listened to Jack; this wasn't what he had been sentenced for, not at all! Did the kid not know? Did nobody tell him? She cuddled Jack. No wonder he looked so lost, he must have been traumatized by having been asked to do that and then to be locked up and alone. Baby Tooth began to cry.

"Don't cry!" Jack begged, pulling her close. "I'm okay..." he whispered but the memories were making him cry. He lay down, holding Baby Tooth close. He fell asleep after some time of crying. Baby Tooth wanted to stay and cuddle him, care for him. But, as she pushed the frozen tears off the bed, she decided she had to find Tooth and inform her of this.


	6. Chapter 6

Unfortunately, like in so many films, things were never as simple as simply getting from A to B. Baby Tooth tried her best, she really did. She tried to fly silently and unseen through the lair, to her mother, she would tell them what Jack had told her. And they would know, they would know that Jack didn't understand... but of course, there was no A to B.

Baby Tooth, despite trying to be silent, could not stop the sound of her wrings fluttering, nor could she stop the sound from echoing though out the silent lair. She almost wished they had not rescued the other fairies, that way their struggling would cover her sound.

Struggling from the grip of the light grey hand, she chirped desperately calling out for Jack. "You're a very little fairy, aren't you?" he said coldly as he carefully walked up the stairs, heading towards a small room.

"I so wish I could put you in the cage where I kept your sisters, but Jack would notice... shame, really. Had you stayed with Jack I would have let you be, but you ruined that," Pitch said as Nightmare Sand formed into a cage around the fairy who continued to struggle.

"Sweet dreams," Pitch whispered as he closed the door leaving the fairy in complete darkness, the nightmare sand of the cage making Baby Tooth sleepy. She fought against it, but it was useless. She simply hoped, hoped that Jack would leave Pitch, hoped that the guardians would help Jack.

"North! Hurry!"

"Sleigh is going as fast as it can!" North shouted back, looking at the last light as it slowly began to fade away into darkness.

"Don't you have another snow globe?"

"Magic lost with my powers," North explained.

Bunny growled, he hated the sleigh even more at this very moment. North could barely control the reindeer and Bunny couldn't even hold on tightly. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths. Tooth frowned looking at him, feeling sorry for the little bunny.

Jack exited the room after a nice long nap. He flew up to one of the higher parts of the main room in the lair. "Pitch?" he called out.

Pitch soon appeared out of the shadows. "Yes, Jack?"

"I... I wanted to know if I was allowed out?" he asked, hesitantly.

Pitch looked at Jack and smiled. "Of course, Jack, you are not my prisoner," Pitch pointed out, then his smile vanished replaced with worry. "But I must request you take this," he said handing Jack a small leather bag.

Jack took it carefully and looked at it. A tiny bit of black sand was in it. He looked questioningly at Pitch. "What is it?"

"It is Nightmare Sand, if you find yourself in trouble, just throw it in the air, a Nightmare will protect you. Also it will inform me, so I can help."

Jack nodded. "Thanks," he said, closing the bag and placing it in his pocket.

"Have fun," Pitch said as he turned around to leave.

"Thanks," Jack whispered as he flew off, out of the lair.

Pitch smiled, fading into the shadows. Pitch had managed to recruit the most feared spirit alive just to find out he was just a lost kid. A lost kid who just needed a little push in the wrong direction.

Jack landed on his lake in Burgess. It had been so long since he had felt the cold under his feet, he let out a small sigh of relief as he closed his eyes and smiled. He missed this place. He threw his staff over his shoulder and slowly stepped off the lake and onto the now snow covered forest ground.

He took his time, walking into town. He looked around; it had changed so much. But one thing had not changed: it was still Jack's home. His birthplace, his beginning. He laughed and pointed his staff up at the sky, the snow began to fall, soon covering the entire town with a thick coating of snow.

"I'm home!" he shouted out loud, still laughing.

Jamie had been sitting on his bed, talking to his toy bunny. "You don't have to do much... just a little sign so I know... anything... anything at all," and the moment he said that, the snow began to fall and he turned to his window. He got up and opened the window, looking outside. It had not snowed in Burgess for a long time. In fact, the boy had never seen snow before, not in person.

His eyes filled with wonder and he quickly grabbed his coat and gloves and ran outside, excited, forgetting about his sadness and doubt as he jumped into the soft, white, cold, snow. He laughed. His mom stood at the door, her eyes wide.

"And at spring?" she asked, surprised, then smiled at her son who played in the snow. "Don't stay out too late," she said "and make sure you take your hat! We don't want Jack Frost nipping at your nose."

"Who's Jack Frost?" Jamie asked, looking bothered by the attention.

"No one honey, it's just an expression."

Jack, who had now come over to see the kid play, looked offended. "Hey!"

"Maybe he brought the snow," Jamie said running off to play.

"Bring the snow? I bring winter!" Jack shouted, following the kid curiously, grinning happily. "You act like it's the first time you've seen the snow... or perhaps my snow is just that much better!"

Jamie didn't reply as he jumped into a particularly big pile of snow. Jack smiled. "Who's Jack Frost?" Jack repeated the question, a mischievous smirk on his face. "Well kid, let me show you!" Jack floated above the kid, taking in a deep breath he began to form snow, not a small snowball but a huge lump of snow that would fall on you when you walked under a tree.

Blowing some magic into it, he dropped it. Jamie let out a yelp of surprise as the pile of snow fell on his head. He blinked in confusion before laughing and standing up, looking around expecting to see one of the other kids.

He was alone, he looked up, there was no tree from which it could have fallen. He looked confused; the closest tree was a good few steps away, too far for the wind to push the snow from. Jamie walked over to the tree, noticing something strange and beautiful climbing up the tree.

Jack grinned, concentrating on where he had tapped the staff on the tree. Slowly, the frost spelled out 'Jack Frost'. Jamie's eyes widened and he turned around, his eyes widening he jumped back hitting his head on the tree. He was now staring at a slightly floating white haired boy grinning down at him.

"Jack Frost, does not only bring snow, kiddo," he said with a grin.

Jamie didn't know how to react, his eyes wide. Jack tilted his head then landed. "Hey what's up?" he asked. He hadn't been expecting an answer.

"Y-your J-Jack F-Frost?"

Jack's eyes widened. "What did you say?" he whispered, confused.

"J-Jack F-Frost?"

Jack's eyes widened. "That's me! You... you know me?"

Jamie continued to state at Jack. Jack caught eye contact with the boy; eye contact, he had not done that in a very long time. "Can you hear me?" he asked.

Jamie nodded, eyes still wide.

"C-Can you see me?" Jack asked seeing the kid's eyes. Jamie smiled slightly as he nodded again.

Jack smiled, eyes filled with wonder and hope and he took a few steps back. "You can see me!" he shouted. He paused for a second, taking it in, before smiling once more and suddenly doing a back flip. "You can see me!" he shouted once more.

Jack's excitement seemed to be contagious because Jamie was suddenly jumping up and down too. "You just made it snow!"

"I know!"

"And you just made frost with your name!"

"I know!"

"Your real?!"

"Yeah! Who do you think brings the winter and the snow and the ice!"

"We haven't gotten that very much in the past years," Jamie pointed out.

Jack froze. "You haven't?" he looked surprised.

Jamie shook his head "Did... did you make a mistake?"

Jack shook his head "I've been away... I... I took it someone else would take over for me..."

"Well... this is my first ever snow day," Jamie said and he smiled. "And it's amazing!" he shouted. "Better than I ever imagined!"

Jack smiled. "Well there's much more where that came from!" Jack announced.

"No there won't be. Not if we can help it."

Jack's eyes widened. He turned around standing in front of Jamie hands out protectively. His eyes widened as he saw the three Guardians approaching. Bunny was the one who had spoken. The tiny bunny would have seemed much friendlier if it weren't for the threat. Tooth and North were just behind, all though none of them looked particularly ready to fight. Seeing them still scared Jack.

"Step away from the kid, Jack!" Bunny shouted.

Jamie looked confused. "Are they... Santa and the Tooth Fairy and... the Easter Bunny?" Jamie looked confused. He looked up at Jack.

Jack gave a small nod and he lowered his hands, realizing Jamie didn't need protection, not from the Guardians. "I don't want to fight," Jack said.

"Ha! If you didn't want to fight you wouldn't be here! You just happened to be threatening the last light when we got here!"

"Not true! I was not threatening anybody! I came here because it is my home. I said I wanted to visit here."

North eyes filled with realization and he nodded. "He did say that," he confirmed.

"Don't side with him! He's with Pitch!"

"Who's Pitch?" Jamie asked, looking up at Jack, who hesitated.

"The Boogeyman," he explained, his free hand though his hair. "I am kinda like partners with him..."

"But... you're the good guy right?" Jamie asked, his head tilted like a confused puppy.

Jack looked away. "I wish I was," he said.

"But... you bring the snow! And the frost!" he shouted, pointing at the tree.

"I do, but that is the only good I can do... I bring winter Jamie, I bring cold and death. I always used to say I brought snowballs and fun times but..."

He was shocked when he felt Jamie cling onto him tightly. He gasped, looking down at the child who hugged his waist tightly, as if scared.

"Don't say that! You may kill, but sometimes death is necessary for new life! My parents said spring had become weaker since the disappearance of winter... my parents say if winter doesn't come back soon, global warming will kill people and animals and plants!"

Jack looked surprised. "I guess..."

"Kid, Jack isn't just the bringer of winter, he's a murderer! He had killed three of his fellow spirits!"

"Three?" Jack asked confused.

"Yes, don't tell me you didn't even count the bodies!"

Jack raised his arms taking a step back. "Usually when there's just one I don't bother counting," Jack pointed out.

"What?" the Guardian of Hope looked confused for a second, forgetting about his anger before a laugh was heard from the shadows, making everybody turn to see Pitch appearing.

"Well, this is so much fun but... all though I would love to see where this goes, I must interrupt. Jack, bring me the child," he said the last bit, the order to Jack, coldly.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

Jamie looked scared and clung on to Jack even more.

"He is the last believer Jack, the last light. He is the only thing in between us and our victory."

"That's nice, but I'm not letting you hurt the child, physically or emotionally."

Tooth was the first to react, smiling. "I knew he was a Guardian," she whispered.

"Jack, I thought we were going to work together?"

"You did, didn't you? Except one problem, I don't think so," he said and grinned. "You see, Pitch, the world isn't all black and white, and all though at first look I may look black..." Jack began suddenly thinking of his pale skin and white hair. "Or first look at what I've done at least..." he blushed, realizing how stupid he sounded, "but you see the world isn't black and white. I may be a murderer, but that doesn't mean I like it. And it doesn't mean I will simply hand an innocent child over to you."

Pitch frowned. "So you, Jack Frost, bringer of winter and most feared spirit alive, are going to protect a child?" Pitch grinned.

Jack flinched and looked down before looking back up and nodding. "That is exactly what I'm saying. And just because I'm feared doesn't mean I am on your side."

Pitch frowned, suddenly he was angry. "Fair enough, Jack," he said, "but remember, when they drag you away and lock you up, hide you from the world once more, I offered you help."

Jack didn't flinch but his eyes gave away his fear, fear of the darkness, of the silence of the cell in which he had been locked so long. He very almost considered going back to Pitch but as he spotted Jamie, his first believer, he couldn't. Instead he just nodded. "I will remember."

Jack took a step forward, throwing Jamie back. "Go," he said, holding out his staff. "Go with the Guardians... keep believing. I will protect you."

Pitch flew into the sky, Nightmare Sand and Nightmares both surrounding him. "So be it."

Jack flew up into the air, his staff in front of him. Jamie stared wide-eyed before North grabbed him, leading him away from the battle. Bunny and Tooth stood just behind. "I hope he knows what he's doing," Tooth whispered, to which Bunny just gave a small nod.

Jack was fierce, he shot out ice at his enemy, dodging the Nightmare Sand as it came, landing on a roof, jumping from roof to roof, dodging and shooting attacks. As he thought of the time he had spent abandoned and alone, he wondered how his body could support him so well. But he didn't question it as the wind picked him up, helping him jump to the next building.

He turned to face Pitch, shooting out a strong thing of ice. Pitch blocked and shot Nightmare Sand at the kid's legs, trying to knock him off his feet. Jack jumped on top of his staff to avoid the attack. As Pitch landed on the roof in front of Jack, a change of strategy was in order.

Jack jumped off his staff, trying to kick the Nightmare King who was knocked back. Before he could react, Jack shot out a strong icy attack. Pitch was hit and thrown off the roof, but he was caught by a Nightmare and with a single movement of his hands, many more surrounded Jack.

Jack looked around, his staff held up. There were too many for Jack to fight alone, or for Jack to defeat at least. He didn't need to fight alone or defeat them. Just hold them off long enough for Jamie to find his friends, retrieve believers and the Guardians to join him in the battle.

Jack grinned; raising his staff, he slashed out doing a full circle and destroying the whole first layer. The wind pulled him into the air, the Nightmares followed, but this gave Jack more space to use. He dodged attacks from every direction, trusting the wind to have his back.

He took in a deep breath as he slashed out, one, two, three, seven... they were not hard to defeat, but the quantity of them was scary. But not scary enough to scare Jack. With another deep breath he let himself fall, head first towards the ground. It wasn't until the very last minute that he let the wind catch him, his staff only just touching the ground, making a road of ice.

The Nightmares tried to chase him, but the moment they landed, would slip and fall. This meant Jack just had to keep an eye out for aerial attacks. Jack laughed, flying faster. Pitch watched, frowning. He didn't see the giant bunny attacking him from behind. The boomerang hit him in the back of the head and he landed on the roof of a building.

"Hey mate, bit distracted, aren't you?" he said with a grin.

The kids were chasing Nightmares, using the road of ice that Jack had made to skate on, laughing. Jack was overjoyed as he carefully led the kids, making the path as fun as possible. North and Tooth stood behind Bunny, ready to fight.

Pitch took a step back, he looked down towards Jack ."Don't even think about it!" Bunny said. "He is stronger then you and you will regret touching him!"

"Touching him? Oh, so now you're all protective over the kid?"

"He saved us," Bunny admitted. "He is a guardian, but you probably figured that out."

"I did, but what difference does it make?"

"What difference does it make?" Bunny shook his head. "It makes a lot of difference!"

"Not it doesn't! Not truly..." Pitch look at Jack. "He is so happy, playing with the kids... but soon he will be locked up again and by the time he gets out, they will all be dead!"

Bunny flinched and looked at Jack out of the corner of his eye. Pitch was far too good at telling the truth for his taste. "The kid will find new children."

"Will he? He went a long time without children seeing him, without playing with them, this was his first time. What makes you think it won't be his last?"

"He is Guardian," North said.

"He is a murderer... and at the same time a warrior, ready to defend... then deep down a child... a hurt and frightened child... but he won't be any of that in time. You! You Guardians, protectors of children, are going to take him back to the place he fears the most, lock him up and leave him alone! You're going to abandon him."

Tooth looked at the ground; the thought hurt her. "He deserved it," Bunny said.

"He deserves it! Ha! Even after he saves your life, all your lives! You still fail to feel any pity towards him... he's the most lost child you will ever find! He is shattered beyond repair-" he was interrupted as he was thrown forwards by a strong wind and some ice.

Jack laughed, he was sitting on top of another roof. "Shattered beyond repair? It took me less than a day to recover!" he said, grinning.

Pitch turned around and glared at Jack. "Is that so?"

"Look for yourself!" Jack said, holding his hands out, grinning.

"You are very good Jack..." Pitch said and grinned. "You are a very good liar, a very good actor."

Jack laughed. "You're just jealous!"

"Jealous? Oh Jack... you say you've not been affected by those hundred seventy years?"

"I thought I'd only been there a few years," Jack pointed out.

"Tell me then, why did you listen to me? When I gave you that offer? Why come to me."

Jack froze. "I was bored."

"When I cuddled you Jack, you could have pushed me away, but you were desperate. Jack Frost had never received a cuddle in his life, am I correct?"

Jack glared. "I was loved before I became Jack Frost."

"But those memories are still so lost Jack... so blurry and unreal."

Jack held his staff close, like a child may hold a bear. "But they are real," he whispered.

"They are... but does that change anything? Does that empty feeling you have felt ever since you woke up, alone, uncared for, unloved? Had that been filled with the knowledge that some long gone family once loved a boy that used to be you?"

Jack clenched his fists, his staff even closer. "Yes."

"You're lying."

"I'm not!" he shouted as tears fell down his face and he shot ice at Pitch which he dodged with ease. "Seems you've forgotten your amazing actor skills, Jack."

Jack was gasping as the tears fell down his face, a few tears froze while in his eyes, hurting them and forcing him to close them tightly, trying to get them out before he bled.

"If your so okay, why did you take the time to tell Baby Tooth about the murder!"

Tooth's eyes widened at the mention of Baby Tooth.

"You were so desperate to tell somebody the reason, the motive, I'll admit, it surprised me. It surprised me because, if you were to explain your motive, you could get out of prison."

The Guardians looked surprised. "P-pardon?"

Pitch laughed. "Of course, none of you know... none of you know anything!"

"Pitch shut up!"

"You don't want them to know?"

"I promised..." he whispered, crying still.

"Jack," Pitch laughed. "He tricked you. The person who made you promise, he tricked you."

"W-What are you talking about?"

"He's still alive. So very alive... not only that but he framed you."

"I don't understand..."

The Guardians and Jack were both looking at Pitch in confusion.

Pitch grinned. "Jack... tell them, who was it you murdered?"

The Guardians turned to Jack, Pitch taking this chance was gone, escaping though a shadow. He returned to his lair, leaving the Nightmares at the mercy of the children.

"I murdered... I murdered Old Man Winter," Jack whispered. "Is that not right?"

"Not even close," North said. the Guardians were now extremely confused.

"But it has to be..."

"Well it isn't... you killed three spring spirits, you ambushed them on their way to a meeting, there was blood and ice everywhere. A hooded figure with white hair."

"No. That's not true. I killed Old Man Winter, I killed him... I killed him because he asked me to."

"Old Man Winter? He's alive Jack!"

"But... he isn't... he asked me to kill him... because he wanted to be with his family, so I did so, I pushed him under the water and... he died..."

"His alive Jack, you murdered three spring spirits."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"Bunny, I think I know who I murdered."

"Yes I'm sure you do and that was three spring spirits."

Jack sighed and closed his eyes, working on his patience. "Bunny... may I point out spring chases winter away? May I point out, I'm still a very new spirit. May I point out, ice melts!"

"Well the ice I saw didn't melt."

"Well then, proof it wasn't mine. The biggest thing I can make that doesn't melt is the size of my hand and even that can be melted by a summer spirit without much trouble."

Bunny was about to say something when Tooth interrupted. "You're sure Jack?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "You don't usually forget about killing somebody!"

Tooth looked sad. "Jack..."

North put a hand on Bunny's shoulder. "I think he tells truth."

Bunny looked at Jack, who now, seeing all the sad expressions, looked extremely confused. "We need to speak to Old Man Winter," Bunny said, anger suddenly clenching him.

"If all this is right... if Jack was framed all this time... I'm going to murder that spirit!"

Jack tilted his head and got up about to jump over to the roof the Guardians stood on when he let out a scream of pain as he was thrown to the ground by a strong attack.

"Jack!" Tooth shouted.


	7. Chapter 7

The Guardians were quick to jump off the roof, down to the ground. They had expected Pitch, but instead they were surprised to see Jack on the ground, surrounded by guards, guards from the prison. His staff was out of his reach.

"What is meaning of this?" North demanded, angry. "We had agreement, Jack is not finished yet!"

"Is not finished?" the lady from earlier stepped out of the circle. "He sided with the bad guy."

"I never actually did anything wro-" he was interrupted by a sharp pain in the back of his head. He let out a whimper glaring at the guard which had hit him.

"Hey! He didn't do anything!" Tooth shouted.

"He does not have the right to talk now."

Jack struggled just a little as they forced him to his feet and began to tie his hands behind his back. "Hey, wait there mate. The kid ain't going back just yet."

"What?" the lady raised an eyebrow. "Bunny, this kid is a murderer."

"I have no doubt there, April, I remind you I was a witness too... but the kid was just telling us his motive just now."

April's eyes widened. "He has motive?"

"Yes, and it is confusing."

"Pretty simple to me," Jack mumbled only to be hit again. "Will you stop that!" he shouted. After being hit even harder he shut up, glaring unhappily at the man.

"What do you mean by confusing?"

"I mean, the kid doesn't know who he murdered."

"He... what?"

"I do too!" he shouted ducking avoiding being hit and laughing as the man almost fell.

April ignored Jack who had now turned the guard attempts to hold him down into a game. To most it would just look like a normal fight, but Jack had a different point of view.

"Who does he think he murdered?"

"That is what's most interesting: Old Man Winter."

"Old Man Winter? I don't get why this is so interesting..."

"Because he is a winter spirit, one with white hair. He was the only other suspect and got away only because of Jack admitting, but from what we have heard, this may all just be a very planned out murder. Well covered up."

April looked over to Jack who had gotten over to his staff. His hands were tied behind his back so he couldn't actually use it, but it was enough to scare the guards. April looked embarrassed at the sight. "Idiots," she whispered.

Looking back at Bunny she asked, "So you want to investigate? With the kid?"

Bunny nodded "I know it seems unlikely but... the kid has earned the right to doubt."

April sighed. "Well, it is okay with me, but I must request you be more careful with him this time. I know what happened with Pitch," she said. "Whether it will add to his time left in prison I will leave up to you."

Bunny looked over to Jack. He had dropped his staff and was pinned to a wall. "He was confused, he came to us when it mattered and did a very good job of it. I think it can be forgotten."

April nodded, clicking her fingers. "Release him; I have come to an agreement with the Guardians. We must return to work."

The guards didn't hesitate at all; they released Jack and returned to April. Jack laughed and stuck his tongue out, running to get his staff, holding it close.

"Remember to keep a close eye on him," April said, glaring at Jack who just grinned at her before taking her leave. Jack laughed when they were gone.

"Jack... stop that," Bunny said, trying to sound cold but failing as he looked at the happy child. Jack was making a snow angel in a pile of snow he had made with his staff.

Jack laughed, he looked up at Bunny. "You aren't any fun!" he said, throwing snow into the air letting it fall down.

Bunny shook his head. "Jack, I'm serious, we had reasons not to send you back there and that was not to play in the snow. Now Jack, what were we talking about before?"

Jack hesitated, sitting up in the snow. "About Old Man Winter and the murders," he replied as if talking to a teacher.

"Exactly. Do you know where we can find Old Man Winter?"

"No" Jack said, "but the wind does!" He held up a hand, letting the wind fly by, making him laugh again, smiling brightly. "It can show us."

Bunny nodded, then mumbled something as he realized they would be taking the sleigh. No point arguing, there was no following the wind underground. "Let's go," he said.

"Can I say goodbye to Jamie first?"

Bunny was about to say no, but North spoke first. "Of course! Go tell him it is time for bed for children as well!"

Jack laughed and nodded, running off. Bunny glared at North, North was smiling at the child, but his smile faded as soon as Jack was gone. He turned to Tooth and Bunny with a more serious expression than usual.

"I'm not sure about this," Bunny said.

"What do you mean?"

"This whole thing... if what Jack says is the truth, it may mean trouble. Old Man Winter is the oldest winter spirit on earth... and one of very few. He would not act without reason."

"I agree... but if Jack tells truth we must find reason!" North shouted then frowned "I almost wish Jack is lying..."

"What?" Tooth looked surprised.

"Think about it Tooth, if what the boy says is true... he is innocent!"

"And how is that bad?"

"Tooth... he had been locked up for a hundred and seventy years... let that not be for nothing..." North looked sadly in the direction Jack had ran off in.

Tooth looked that way as well and realized what they meant. "I think... he will be okay. Nothing or not..."

"But it does not make the emotional scarring and physical weakening acceptable in any way."

"No, but... if he is innocent, it will probably teach all spirits a lesson and be more careful with this stuff."

North nodded. "That is true... but I don't want the kid to be merely a lesson."

"None of us want that... we should probably go find him before he gets too excited and makes a blizzard," Bunny said.

North and Tooth nodded. They headed out to find the young winter spirit.

Jack came running to them as soon as the approached. "Guys! Guys! You need to come see this!" he shouted grabbing Tooth and trying to drag her.

"See what?" Bunny asked raising an eyebrow.

"It's Sandy!"

"Sandy?" Tooth's eyes widened and they ran off. Jack laughed and took to the sky. There, in the middle of the sky, above all the children, was Sandy making beautiful sand images flying among the happy children. Jack had started a snowball fight obviously because they were happily throwing snowballs at each other and Jack, who just dodged them as he led the way to Sandy.

Sandy smiled at the sight. The three older Guardians smiled up at him.

"Welcome back, mate," Bunny said.

"You scared us you know!" Tooth complained, smiling.

North laughed. "Scarier than Boogeyman."

Jack was the most excited. He flew around Sandy on the wind, speaking fast about how scary it had been and how the black sand had sudden caved in and how Jack has unleashed his powers on Pitch... Sandy smiled at Jack, then he looked over to the others. Making sure the winter spirit was not paying attention, he formed a picture of metal bars then a question mark.

"We have a lot to tell you, mate," Bunny said. "Nut not in front of him."

"In front of me?" Jack asked, stopping his speaking.

"Nothing Jack. Are you tired?" Tooth asked, flying up to Jack. He shook his head.

Sandy smiled and shook his head. Reaching out with his Dream Sand, he pulled Jack onto the cloud with him, giving him a cuddle. Jack looked surprised and had to hold back so as to not push Sandy away. He was not used to this, but he smiled and cuddled back.

"Thank you," he whispered. He was obviously tired and Sandy carefully, with some Dream Sand, put him to sleep. Jack slept peacefully on top of the cloud of Dream Sand next to Sandy.

Tooth smiled seeing this. She flew closer to see Jack's dreams: the child was flying over a forest spreading snow, playing with a flock of birds. It was quite an impressive sight with all the tiny details made out of Dream Sand.

"We should probably return to the North Pole, explain what is going on to Sandy," Bunny suggested.

The others nodded and after telling the children it is time for bed and leaving the yetis, fairies and eggs in charge of taking them to bed, left in the sleigh, Jack sleeping peacefully with his staff in his hands, Bunny clinging onto the side, Tooth watching over Jack with a smile, Sandy enjoying the ride and North driving.

Once back, they carefully placed Jack in a spare room, leaving a yeti in charge of informing them when he awoke and left to the globe room. Then they explained everything to Sandy.

Sandy listened patiently, not because he had no questions, but because he guessed they would be answered later and if not ignored anyway. After all was said, he thought for a second then nodded, pointing to the moon then the tiles on the floor.

"Your right... it makes more sense now. He may have made Jack Guardian to spare him more time in prison if he was innocent."

Sandy shook his head, that wasn't exactly what he meant, but he shrugged. It wasn't too big a misunderstanding. He would have maybe made a bit more of an effort to make himself heard had Jack not appeared at the doorway at that moment.

He smiled and signaled with his hands for Jack to come over. Jack hesitated before entering. "Hey," he whispered. Sandy formed a question mark but Jack ignored, or didn't notice and just sat down on the table near the control panel.

"So... what are we doing now?" he asked, looking at the Guardians.

"We're going to pay Old Man Winter a visit, remember?" Bunny reminded him.

"Ah, yes... Old Man Winter..." Jack stood up. "And what if he is dead?"

"Then we know it wasn't you're doing because he was questioned after you were arrested."

"Okay... and if he is alive?"

"We will be questioning him."

Jack nodded. "But no violence?" Jack asked, looking strangely hesitant.

"Shouldn't need it, not like he's going to try and fight the Guardians now is it?"

Jack nodded and took a deep breath.

"You okay?" Tooth asked flying over.

Jack gave a small nod. "It's just hard..." he whispered.

"What is?"

"This whole thing... the thought that... that he may have tricked me... he was the only person I trusted, the only spirit who spoke to me without scolding me..."

Sandy frowned and flew over to hug Jack, unsure how he could cheer the kid up with his simple pictures.

North looked over to Bunny, neither knew what to do. "Jack," North began to speak, Jack looked up. "The world is a..." he stopped, realizing cold was bad a choice of words, "unfriendly," he finally decided, "place, at times..." he placed big hands on small shoulders, "but trust us, if he has tricked you, those years will not be forgotten."

"I don't understand..."

North sat down next to Jack and pulled him into a big hug. "What I mean is... I for one, if it was trick, will personally make sure you will not be alone, so that no matter what, you will always have somebody whom you can trust. You can live at North Pole! It is cold enough, yes?"

Jack looked up at North but didn't look any happier.

North looked at him then to the other Guardians. Bunny stepped forwards. "North, you can't just replace people like that, and less after such an experience... listen Jack, if he tricked you, you just need to be strong."

"Easy to say," Jack said, pulling his knees to his chest.

"Jack... if he tricked you, you will be let out of prison first of all. You will get to spread snow and play with your new believers."

This made Jack smile. Bunny grinned, feeling like he had beaten North.

"As well as that, most spirits will feel bad for you. That means you will probably have no trouble with other immortals, nobody will go up and complain about the cold after what you've been though and then there's us. We won't leave you alone again, especially not after seeing what your capable of!"

"So you want to make sure I don't cause blizzards during spring, basically?" Jack asked grinning.

"Someone's got to keep an eye on you, three hundred and seventy years... bet you got enough energy built up to bring on the next ice age," Bunny grinned, messing up Jack's hair.

Jack laughed. "Bet I could pull off some amazing April Fool's pranks!"

Bunny laughed, then stopped, trying to figure out if the kid was serious or not. He did not have the time to ask as Jack flew into the sky. "Let's go! The sooner we sort this out the better," he said excitedly.

"Well done, Bunny, you're better with kids then you think!"

"Thanks," Bunny said, although he looked sad. "He's so excited..."

"Of course he is! He may be free soon!" North sounded cheerful.

"I think it's more the fact he's free at the moment..." Tooth said.

Bunny nodded, then followed Jack. Jack was waiting for them in the hall, smiling. North led the way to the sleigh with all the other Guardians. Although Tooth and Sandy should be getting back to work, both wanted to see the outcome of this.


	8. Chapter 8

Jack let the wind carry him though the sky. The four Guardians were just behind him on the sleigh. Jack was fast and had to remind himself to slow down sometimes so as to not lose the other Guardians. He was beginning to get closer to the ground.

"We nearly there?" he whispered to the wind.

The wind ruffled his hair. Jack took that as a yes. "We're nearly there!" he shouted to the others. North prepared to land while Bunny closed his eyes and Sandy and Tooth both flew out of the sleigh making Bunny even more nervous, wishing he could do so too.

Jack saw a frozen cave and a river leading into it. He gracefully landed, the water freezing under his feet. He smiled; he would not be drowning again anytime soon. He flinched when he heard the sleigh crash into the trees.

"Bloody hell! How can you be that bad at landing the bloody thing?!" Bunny demanded.

"There was nowhere to land!" North replied. "Besides, I landed it okay," he said, climbing off and onto a tree branch before jumping down to the ground, followed by Bunny who was shaking slightly.

"Sh!" Tooth put a finger on her mouth. "He will flee if he hears us!" she whispered angrily.

"Bloody coward if he does, proves he at least did something wrong though: people don't flee for no good reason," Bunny said.

"Perhaps, but I would rather not have him flee, thank you very much," Tooth said, rolling her eyes and flying over to Jack, followed by Sandy, North and finally Bunny.

Tooth smiled. "You want to lead the way?" she asked Jack.

Jack hesitated, then nodded, holding his staff tightly he stepped slowly, the water underneath him freezing as he entered the dark cave. Bunny swore when he was forced to stand on the ice so as to not get we. Tooth shushed him once more.

Jack ignored them, carefully listening for any sounds, straining his eyes to see in the dark. When he touched solid ground covered with snow, he reached out his staff and found a wall. Tapping it, his frost quickly ran up the wall and soon the whole cave was illuminated by a bright blue.

"Wow," Tooth whispered, "didn't know you could do that."

"I can do a lot of stuff." Jack said with a grin. "Chances are I don't even know everything yet. According to Old Man Winter I'm still... or was still a new spirit in the eyes of most."

"You are still," Tooth said. "Most of us have been around before this planet even existed," she said, making Jack's eyes widen for a second before he turned his attention back to the cave. Now that he could see, he could make out the silhouette of a figure staring at them from the shadows.

Jack strained his eyes and when he failed to see them, tapped the wall again, making the frost spread and revealing Old Man Winter. The man had white hair, but not like Jack's: his was of old age. His gray-blue eyes stared at the five spirits that stood within his home.

"Old Man Winter," Tooth said and she flew forward. "Umm... we're here to ask you some questions, about Jack here."

Old Man Winter looked coldly at each of the Guardians until finally his eyes fell on Jack and they softened. "Jack..." he whispered softly.

"You were dead..."

"I know, Jack, I know..."

"You lied to me... you tricked me!"

Old Man Winter looked down as if in shame and nodded. "I did... but you need to know the reason!"

"I spent years in prison... it was horrible!"

"I know Jack..."

Bunnymund stepped forward. "Did you kill those spring spirits?" he asked coldly.

Old Man Winter hesitated, then nodded. "I did."

"And you framed Jack?" North asked.

He nodded. "I did."

Jack's eyes filled with tears, he took a few deep breaths and cuddled himself. Sandy frowned and cuddle Jack close. Jack should have been prepared for this, yet somehow it still hurt. He cuddled up to Sandy, crying into the Golden Sand.

Bunny growled and in a single hop he was standing right in front of the older winter spirit. He grabbed him by the throat and threw him against a wall. "How dare you?! It's bad enough that you dare kill another spirit, but to have someone else take the punishment is just plain heartless!" he shouted, hopping forward to grab the winter spirit again.

"Stop," Jack whispered. Bunny hesitated, then turned around.

"Jack, he is the reason you've been locked up for a hundred and seventy years!"

"I know that."

"He deserves to die!" Bunny shouted, clenching his fists.

"But he admitted to it, he admitted he did it... I want to know why," he whispered.

"Jack..." Old Man Winter whispered and closed his eyes. "It is not necessary that you defend me," he said quietly.

"I... am not defending you, I'm asking you a question," Jack said quietly and pulled away from Sandy, looking straight at the older winter spirit.

"Jack... there is no point in me lying for you already know that you're not a murderer."

"I know... but nobody else does, so why admit it?"

Old Man Winter smiled. "Because, your opinion is all that matters."

"No it doesn't..."

"Everything I did was for you. To me it is."

"I don't understand. For me? To make me suffer?"

"No... I wish that had been my goal, it would have been much easier."

Bunny growled. "There is no other goal that could lead you to do what you did," he said.

"Jack... you were safe in prison, safer then I could ever make you."

Jack blinked, confused. "Safe?"

"I could not protect you from those who were after you... I apologize for failing you there Jack. I knew you would be safe there, it was hard for one to get to you as it was you to get to them."

"What are you talking about?"

"There was a reason I chose to teach you, Jack. A reason I was determined to teach you to fight and defend, it was not a simple past time... oh I wish I could explain!"

Bunny grabbed Old Man Winter tightly. "You're going to explain no matter what, mate. We'll be questioning you ourselves, in fact."

Old Man Winter looked up and sighed. "I can explain, but you will not understand."

"You can at least try," Jack whispered, Sandy pulled him close again as if sensing how hurt the child was. Jack closed his eyes tightly.

"Come... we will take him back to North Pole and do questioning there as well as inform April," North said.

Bunny nodded, grabbing Old Man Winter tightly, dragging him outside followed by everyone else.

Back at the Pole, Sandy and North stood close to Jack both to comfort and protect him. Old Man Winter was sitting on a chair, his hands tied behind his back and to the chair, the four Guardians and Jack sat in front of him, Jack furthest away, next to Sandy.

Jack was crying and cuddled his legs close to his chest. All the Guardians, even Bunny, felt bad for the kid. And slightly guilty: he was a kid, and all though they could not get him out of prison if he were guilty, they maybe should have investigated a little further. Especially Bunny; he decided if he ever was a witness again, he would make sure he was sure.

"Now tell us, why did you kill those spirits? Just to frame Jack?"

Old Man Winter nodded. "It was only for Jack, I had nothing against those spirits."

Bunny glared. "Why did you want to frame Jack?"

"To protect him."

"Only person he needs protecting form is you," Bunny growled.

Old Man Winter just glared at Bunny. "At least I've never physically hurt the kid."

Bunny couldn't hold in his anger much longer. He hopped forward, punching him hard. The chair fell over and he hit his head letting out a moan. "One hundred and seventy years alone! Locked up and cold!"

"Yes and one hundred and thirty years of that beforehand!"

"What?"

"You act like being alone and cold was new to him! He was always alone and cold! Ever since he was created by that stupid leader of yours."

Jack cuddled his legs closer. "But I had the wind... and I could have fun."

"But you were still, for the most part, alone."

Jack nodded and cuddled up to Sandy who was holding him lovingly. He squeezed Jack's hands, trying to reassure the child.

Bunny growled. "That is no excuse!" he shouted, pulling Old Man Winter off the floor. "Just because he was alone, does not mean you can do that to him!"

"But he was safer, he was protected."

"Protected from what?" Tooth asked.

Old Man Winter shook his head, hesitated, and then spoke. "Although you may not know it, there are many after the kid. He is the most powerful seasonal spirit to exist in a long time and a mere child... he is an easy target for those who seek power."

"So you weren't trying to protect me? But my power?" Jack whispered, cuddling even closer to Sandy.

Old Man Winter hesitated, then nodded. "You're powerful enough to bring forth the next Ice Age Jack... that is... far too destructive... but it would hurt you too! You would be hated and... and I wouldn't want you to be hurt either."

"Hated? I'm hated by most people! I'm a murderer to most!" he shouted, sobbing miserably. North frowned and went over to help Sandy comfort him.

"Sh, it's okay Jack, it's over now. You will not go back to prison and... and you will not be alone, we will protect you," he whispered, pulling Jack close.

Jack cuddled North. but kept crying, shaking his head but unsure what to say.

"Look you... you will stay here at North Pole and you will have home... and you can go to Burgess and play with children, children who see you! And... and you will be safe..." North whispered, looking upset at how he could not help the crying child.

"It is Mother Nature's job to protect the world from Ice Ages, not yours!"

"But you don't understand! He is not Mother Nature's job, he is Man in Moon's!"

"I'm both, actually," Jack whispered, still cuddled up to North.

Bunny looked up at that. "Your what?"

"Both the Man in Moon and Mother Nature, she told me once. She was telling me that I had to bring winter during winter and explaining my job... I told her about the Moon and she explained that the Moon had not been powerful enough to make me so she had to help."

"Why would the Moon not be powerful enough to make you?" Tooth looked confused.

Jack shrugged, then looked thoughtful. "Maybe it's because Mother Nature is in charge of life and the Moon needed help bringing me back to life?"

"Bringing you back to life?"

"Yeah, I died before becoming Jack Frost... is that not the normal way for this to happen?"

The Guardians shook their heads and Old Man Winter sighed. Jack, who was still cuddled up to North, looked at them for a second, trying to figure out if this news was good, bad or neutral. In the end, he decided neutral. Although the Guardians looked surprised, they were nor sad or happy.

"Anyway... if there are two in charge of him, that should make him only more safe," Bunny pointed out.

"Two very busy beings who have left him alone for three hundred year., I doubt they would do much to help him."

"But the Moon gave as a reason to get Jack out of prison," Tooth pointed out.

"To get rid of Pitch. Had you not been told, he would be back in prison now. Do you really think the Moon would act and tell you?"

"Of course he would!"

"Then why wait so long?"

Jack began to cry even more at this. North frowned and cuddled him closer. "I think Jack needs rest and food!" North announced.

"I-I'm okay," Jack whispered between tears, but North picked him up with his big hands and took him towards the door. "I will take care of him, you guys continue questions."

Jack tried to pull away for a second before falling limp and just crying into North's shoulders. "I can't believe it," he whispered after some time.

"Believe what?"

"This... that he... framed me. He was always the only person that cared for me... the only person I trusted and now..."

North frowned as he opened up the door to a guest room and placed Jack down on the bed. "It is okay Jack, it hurts but you will be okay, we will help you," North said, grabbing Jack's small pale hands in his big ones.

Jack smiled and nodded. "Thank you."


	9. Chapter 9

Jack blinked his eyes open, he must have been asleep, but he couldn't remember falling asleep though. The last thing he remembered was cuddling up to North and letting the tears fall. He was lying in bed; he loved the feeling, the soft covers against his skin, his head resting upon a feather cushion. The window had been left wide open letting the wind in.

His staff was leaning against the wall next to the bedside table that had a tray on it. Jack sat up looking at the tray. There was a note from North: "Jack, I had to leave to talk to April. We are sorting out paperwork and will have you legally release soon. You won't have to worry, we will sort everything out. I left food for you, you need to eat. If you do not like it, it is okay, yetis will bring you something different. Also, if you need me ask a yeti, they will get me. North."

Jack smiled and cuddled the note close, closing his eyes. North was nice to him and he truly appreciated it. North had been nice to him before knowing Jack was innocent, it was obviously a part of his nature. Jack pulled the tray onto the bed, he was hungry. He looked carefully at the food and liquids. He first decided to try the juice. Apple.

He smiled and froze it, removing it from the glass he sucked at it like an ice cream. It didn't melt in his hand or get sticky like it would for most; it was surprising it melted in his mouth in fact. He then poked at the bowl of cereal, a thing of milk on the side. He didn't like milk too much. It tasted nice in ice cream, but it was terribly strange tasting when frozen.

He grabbed a bit of the cereal and bit it in half, it was sweet and crumbly. Then he grabbed a raisin out of the cereal and tried it, it was sweet. He liked this cereal. He ignored the spoon as he picked up bits with two fingers eating it slowly. When he ran out of cereal he decided to try the fruit, most he has already tried: banana, apple, melon, most he liked... the coconut confused him, it was already cut in half and looked quite yummy yet it was filled with milk.

Jack carefully poured the milk out into the now empty cereal bowl before trying to get some of the white stuff out of the shell. He stared at it for a second before eating it; he raised an eyebrow and decided he didn't like it. It froze at his touch and like he said before, milk wasn't nice frozen.

A snicker came from the doorway. He looked up to see Bunny leaning on the door frame. "Not a fan of coconut, I see."

"It's all... milky" Jack whispered, uncertainty trained his voice. Of all the Guardians he would like to see, Bunny was definitely the least. "Where is North?" he asked hopefully.

"He's sorting out paperwork, for you."

"Oh..." Jack pulled the sheets further over himself, cuddling the pillow like a teddy bear.

"Don't worry, he'll not take too long, he wants us to all eat together tonight."

"Really?" Jack looked up at Bunny, eyes bright.

Bunny couldn't help but smile as he nodded. "The way this is going, we will be seeing a lot of each other, us Guardians. We don't really believe what the old winter spirit says about you being in danger, seems like a very weak excuse, but it would be best if we were to keep a close eye on you, precaution and all."

Jack nodded, understanding. He guessed it wasn't completely for his safety but a good part for the safety of others too. He doubted they trust him completely yet. But if this meant he got company and wouldn't be forced into solitude, he didn't care too much for the reason.

He cuddled the cushion closer and Bunny frowned. He carefully, slowly, approached Jack. When there was no reaction, he sat down on the bed next to him. He had expected Jack to flinch, move away, but Jack just looked up at Bunny with those big blue eyes of his. They were curious, hesitant, but they weren't filled with fear or hatred towards the person who had been so determined to view and treat him like a criminal. It felt much worse. Jack didn't care what Bunny had done. And that was sad; Jack should be enraged, not uncaring.

"You know... if you ever get accused of any crime again, you should probably ask what your guilty of," Bunny suggested.

Jack grinned. "I'm hoping I won't have to use that useful piece of advice."

"You never know, maybe I'll be the next one to use it, accused of false accusations."

Jack's grin vanished and he shook his head, looking away. "It's not like you could have known."

"I never truly saw your face; I jumped to a conclusion, a rather big one."

"You all did."

"Doesn't make it right. We all left you to that prison for all those years, that doesn't make it right."

"It's your job to protect children, how was I anything to do with you?"

"You're a child, ain't ya?"

"I'm three hundred years old!"

"Your point, mate?"

"Not a child."

"Oh no?"

"No."

Bunny smirked, making Jack back away slightly. Suddenly Bunny pounced and Jack found himself pinned to the bed laughing as Bunny tickled Jack. "You know, this usually isn't as effective on adults," Bunny pointed out with a smirk as Jack tried to pull away.

"Oh? You saying you could take it."

"Of course."

Jack grinned and with a careful movement, before Bunny could stand it, Jack had his staff freezing Bunny to the wall. "Hey!"

"Now it's my turn!" he shouted and ran up to tickle Bunny, laughing almost as much if not more than Bunny as he did so. Bunny was nowhere near as affected by Jack, in fact, he was laughing more from watching Jack then the actual tickling.

The sound of the door opening made Jack stop tickling Bunny. He turned to see who had entered having to use a lot of self-control to not take on a defensive pose. His eyes widened and he would have backed against the wall if it not for Bunny being behind him.

April, the woman from the prison stood there looking at the two with a very serious expression. Bunny felt embarrassed as he broke the ice. "We were playing..." he explained, placing a paw on Jack's shoulder so as to relax him and show April it was no fight.

"I can see that," April said coldly, making Jack cuddle closer to Bunny who muzzled his hair reassuringly. "I'm guessing this means you believe Old Man Winter?"

"Of course," Bunny replied. "This explanation makes much more sense than our previous information," he replied, his grip around Jack tightening. "If Jack denied the crime and Old Man Winter admitted to it, there was no way Jack could still be named guilty, right?

"You will be standing down as witness, I guess?"

Bunny nodded. "I still stand as witness to a murder, but not one committed by Jack Frost," Bunny said.

"Fair enough. You will have to fill out some paperwork as well, as you already know."

Bunny nodded. "Of course... has North finished with his?" he asked looking at Jack, not wanting to leave the kid alone quite yet.

"Nearly, are you coming?" she asked turning to leave.

Bunny hesitated, then nodded, letting go of Jack and hopping forwards. He turned around for a second to look at Jack. "Finish eating," he said, thinking "lie down... we will be checking your physical state later... we probably shouldn't have had you so active so soon after your prison sentence."

Jack gave a small nod. "Are Tooth and Sandy here?" he whispered.

Bunny shook his head. "They're working... don't worry, I won't be long and neither will North... Would you like me to tell one of the yetis to keep you company?"

Jack shook his head. "The wind is here," he replied.

Bunny nodded. "Call me if you need me, okay?"

Jack nodded as Bunny hopped out the door. April looked at Jack, it wasn't with hated or even suspicion; she simply looked serious. And Jack didn't like serious, he liked fun. Once he was alone he stood still for a few minutes before doing as Bunny had said, finishing off his food, even the coconut and lying down. He didn't feel tired, but he didn't feel very energetic either.

He daydreamed for a while, imagining North showing him around the toy shop, playing with the kids, flying with Tooth and Sandy, tickling Bunny. He smiled and hoped that these dreams could eventually become a reality.

He was surprised when the door opened and North walked in. He looked a little tired but jolly all the same. "Jack! You should be resting," he said, but smiled as he sat on the bed. "You ate all your food," he said looking at the tray.

"It was yummy, I like food," Jack replied sitting up, smiling, happy for the company.

"Does your tummy feel okay?"

Jack gave a small nod. "Why wouldn't it?"

"You said you were not given actual food in prison, some people react badly to that."

"Oh... well, so far I'm fine," he replied with a small smile.

"That is good!" North replied. "From what we have seen, you are strong boy. You should be good."

Jack smiled and nodded.

"Are you feeling any better?" North asked, a bit more quiet and a bit more serious.

Jack looked confused. "Better?"

"About all that has happened... with Old Man Winter..."

Jack hesitated, then gave a small nod. "I... I don't like it, but... I... it could have been worse, I mean... at least... I don't know," he finally cuddled up to North. "I don't know... it all just feels so foreign."

"I know Jack... it will make sense in future."

Jack nodded and closed his eyes. "I kind of wish I was a murderer, it would all be so much simpler."

"Ha! Simpler? It would be no such thing! I mean, at least now we have motives: the spring spirits were murdered to frame you for what we have guessed so that the old spirit can be the main Winter Spirit. Everything makes sense, your just confused child in middle... now if confused child where murderer, there would be no explanation in world!"

"Motives are not always the most important thing."

"No... not always, but had we made more of an effort to find your motive... we may have found the truth sooner. You may have been free sooner..."

"I don't care."

"Don't care? But you were locked up... alone..."

"I was alone before, too," he pointed out, "and I'll be alone soon again," he whispered more to himself then to North, but North heard.

"We won't let that happen Jack," North said, placing both hands on Jack's shoulders. "I will not."

"It may not be within your hands."

"Of course it will be, I don't have to leave you alone and besides, we can't just have you wandering off on your own, hundred and seventy years... who knows how your little head is doing, you may wonder off to a dessert by mistake!"

"Doubt that," Jack whispered, but smiled.

"Yeah, well I take no risks with children. I am Guardian after all! And you are child," he said, pulling the sheets up to Jack's chin and making sure he was comfortable. Jack closed his eyes, making himself comfortable. "And naughty or nice... we protect children," North finished.

He had always said that, always believed that, but he had believed Jack had been naughty and so he had failed in protecting Jack. Even when Jack appeared on the nice list, he failed at protecting that one lost child. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "It won't happen again, never again."


	10. Chapter 10

A few weeks passed and Jack calmed down, he stopped hiding under the sheets, stopped clinging onto his staff and began exploring, he loved exploring. And the workshop was big and so perfect for it. He explored the guest rooms, he explored the globe room, he explored the kitchens and the roof.

"Jack! Come down, you will fall!" North shouted from a window, sighing.

"Don't worry! I'm fine!" Jack replied from the highest point on the roof. North frowned, he knew Jack had an amazing balance and he knew the wind could catch him, yet seeing the kid so high up worried him.

"Jack! It is time for dinner!"

Jack sighed, he was sitting down but at the calls he stood and flew over to the open window where North stood. He liked North and enjoyed being around him very much. He had nobody for so long but now that North was always there, Jack felt a little overwhelmed.

North closed the window after the kid entered, making Jack flinch and North pause. He didn't lock the window. "You can go out later," he said quietly and Jack nodded.

"What's for dinner?" he whispered, trying to smile.

North smiled. "What would you like for dinner?" North asked.

Jack frowned at the question. "Food?"

North laughed. "Yes, I guessed that much..." he answered before remembering Jack had gone without food for so long. "Food is only option now."

Jack nodded. "I like food."

North put a hand on Jack's shoulder; Jack had to hold back from flinching as North led him towards the dining room.

"Jack?"

"Yes North?"

"You don't need to be scared, it has been a long time since you got out of prison and you still seem very... tense."

"Having the one person I trusted... do what he did... it would make one slightly tense."

"I know but... you do know we will not do something like that, me and other Guardians, it is duty to protect children, children like you."

"North, I do not expect you or the others to betray me or anything like that, I'm simply tense. I am more tense when you're not there than when you are."

"It's unhealthy to be scared all the time."

"It's unhealthy to stay put in the same place for a hundred years, too."

North looked down at Jack who was expressionless, refusing to let his expressions show on his face, not even in his blue eyes.

North sighed. "Fair enough, but try to calm down?"

"I'll try."

A few more weeks passed, Jack went to Burgess almost every day, he played with the children and brought snow, but he would not leave the Guardians sight. He was afraid, very afraid that the moment they couldn't see him, something bad would happen. He preferred it weren't Bunnymund, when it was Bunnymund he was always much more hesitant, not wanting to make too much snow or run too fast.

In fact, around Bunny Jack was just a scared child, he didn't even dare play in front of Bunny in case he would be told off for having too much fun. Bunny knew this, not as well as the others who had seen Jack running and playing and laughing freely. But still, he noticed how the kid glanced at him with fear in his blue eyes, how he hesitated before telling the children what game they would play, he noticed how Jack flinched when Bunny came to the Pole without warning.

It was perfectly understandable. Although Jack had said he forgave Bunny, the fear was still there, and no matter how much Bunny hated to think Jack was scared of him, he couldn't bring himself to say it. He saw no reason to sit down and talk to Jack about it, chances were it would just make the kid even more nervous.

It had been over two months since Pitch had 'vanished' and Jack had begun his new life. There was to be a meeting concerning him later that evening, North felt Jack was ready to know about the Moon's decision to make him into a Guardian.

Bunny had come early to talk to North and was heading to see the kid. North had told him Jack was playing down in the lower floors. North usually used this room for training with his swords, it also used to be where the yetis used to fight all though they had slowly started doing this less and less throughout the years, meaning Jack often took advantage of the wide space.

Bunny quietly opened the door; Jack was practicing what looked like battle moves with his staff. Bunny watched as Jack kicked and punched and wielded his staff like it was some small weightless stick; then again, Bunny had never held it, perhaps that was all it was. He would be best off never suggesting that to Jack though.

The movements were fast, his balance was amazing and he was probably fighting a quite strong imaginary opponent. Bunny tilted his ears, then his head, unsure how to feel about this. He was impressed, Jack was strong. He was disappointed that Jack felt he needed to know this. He was happy that Jack took interest in this, yet sad as he was reminded of the motive for this interest.

He was so lost in thought that he did not notice that Jack had noticed him. Jack stared at Bunny unsure what to say. Fear filled him and he stepped back, fearing that Bunny would jump to conclusions. Perhaps think he wanted to get into fights.

"Jack, you okay?"

Jack took another step back. "Bunny..."

"Yeah, it's just me. You okay, mate? You look a little nervous."

"I-I..."

"You're... quite an impressive fighter, ya know. H-How long you been learning this stuff?"

Jack hesitated "Since... since two months ago."

"Ah... so the fight with Pitch, may be smart, we don't know when he may come back."

Jack gave a small nod. "I want to be prepared..."

"That's good, I train every day too. Ya know, perhaps I could teach you some of my tricks, in case you're disarmed or something," Bunny suggested.

Jack hesitated, he still looked scared, he looked up at Bunny who was worried, almost scared. "I-I... that could be useful." He took in a deep breath, then nodded. "If you have the time I would like to learnm" he said, deciding it was the best thing to say.

Bunny smiled when he saw Jack relax. "Great. Well Easter's not for a long time, in fact, I'm planning on sticking around the North Pole until tonight so... I got time to kill if you have?"

Jack hesitated as usual but nodded. "Sounds good."

Bunny nodded and hesitated, unsure what to do. Jack stood there waiting for instruction. Bunny opened his mouth and was about to tell Jack to put his staff down, then realized how wrong that would sound. Jack clung onto his staff at every moment, ever since he got it back, but the whole point was for him to learn to fight without it right?

Thankfully Jack realized it. "I guess, I need to put my staff down...?" Bunny nodded. Jack carefully leaned it again a wall and walked to the center of the room, he flinched when he heard the staff fall to the floor and turned to look at it as if expecting it to be broken, when he saw it was okay he calmed down and stared back at Bunny.

"Good... now..." he looked thoughtful, trying to decide which fighting technique would work better for Jack. He nodded to himself. "Bend your legs like this, hold your hands up," he said showing Jack.

"Like this?" Jack asked.

Bunny nodded ."Good... now think fast!" He attacked with a punch, Jack dodged and moved his hands fast, pushing Bunny away.

Bunny was thrown back and grinned. Jack looked at Bunny with wide eyes.

"Very good, remember that move, now stand like this." Bunny showed Jack another pose, Jack hesitated, then did it.

Again Bunny attacked, this time without warning. Again Jack dodged and defended.

Bunny nodded. "Good, now, like this..."

Jack smiled doing as he was told. This continued for another few hours, only stopping when Bunny noticed Jack's movements becoming slower, less graceful and more hesitant.

"Hungry?" Bunny asked, standing up normally.

Jack hesitated, then nodded. "A little, I don't usually spend as long training."

"Nor do I, you won't need to do as long once you know the moves, it's only because your learning them today."

Jack nodded.

"How 'bout we go get something to eat? I'll make you a salad, you like salad?"

Jack nodded "I like salad... it's cold and fresh."

"Yep, that's what salad are like. Come on." Bunny smiled and led the way. Jack grabbed his staff and followed, slightly behind. Bunny slowed his pace so he was walking next to Jack.

"You're very strong, ya know, most people don't learn that fast."

"I-I... thank you..."

"Did... did you learn to fight before?"

"I... before... Old Man Winter gave me some basic training on fighting using the blizzards and the wind. I've fought in wars, human wars, before, trying to defend people... you know, cause some wars use children and I... didn't like it..." Jack moved a hand to his shoulder.

"Yeah, I understand... we have had to get involved in this sort of stuff before because of that. Didn't know you had do."

"I didn't have much to do as a spirit so I got involved in a lot of human stuff," Jack whispered.

"That's good, keeps you busy..."

"I didn't fight much before I was a spirit though."

"Most humans don't."

"No, I fought a wolf once to protect my sister but... didn't do too good of a job."

Bunny looked down at Jack. "If you were as puny as you are now, I ain't surprised."

Jack looked up at Bunny and when he saw the mischievousness in his eyes and the smile, Jack smiled back. "Yeah, but I can throw a good rock... good thing there was a rock within reach and a hunger nearby," he whispered.

"Yeah, would have been a pretty unimpressive way to die."

"Fighting a wolf? Better than the way I did go."

"The way you did go?" Bunny stopped. Jack stopped and looked up at Bunny.

"Yeah, when I became a spirit... I drowned in my lake," he whispered, then grinned and threw his hands through his hair. "And now my job is basically keeping the lake frozen enough to prevent that. Pretty stupid, but... I like being a spirit, especially now that the kids can see me."

"Wait... you drowned... in the lake?"

Jack nodded. "Then the moon brought me back and I became who I am now."

"I-I... never knew that." Bunny lowered himself closer to the floor, looking thoughtful.

Jack watched silently for a moment, then approached. "Well, you couldn't have... could you?"

"I... it's just, most spirits... not all spirits die Jack, I just... I didn't know you where one of those."

Jack paused, taking in the information. "Does...? Does that make me different?"

Bunny looked up and shook his head. "No," he hopped forwards, grabbing Jack, making him flinch. "You are not different... I mean... you are, we all are different but you're not..." he looked for words.

"No more different than anyone else?"

Bunny nodded. "Yeah, that will do," he laughed and hugged Jack. "You need to calm down a bit, the more nervous you are the more nervous it makes me."

Jack laughed. "Sorry, old habits."

Bunny grinned. "Race you to the kitchen?"

Jack smiled. "You're on!"


	11. Chapter 11

That evening, as planned, the four original Guardians sat in the globe room. Bunny was bored of the argument happening between Tooth and North. Sandy had given up on being noticed and was just sipping at his eggnog and Bunny in all honest could not care less. Jack was a Guardian and did the job of one, even if he did not know or had not taken the oath.

"He is just a child! We should be protecting him not making him work with us!"

"Since when is being a Guardian work? It is not just job it is what we do!"

"It might scare him, the responsibility-"

"Is nothing he can't handle!"

"Just give him a little longer..."

"Tooth, he does not need more time. We had no reason to hide it from him from the beginning."

Bunny sighed, wishing he could block out the noise. North and Tooth where both acting like over protective parents and all though Bunny agreed that Jack maybe needed it, it did not make them any less annoying. Sandy seemed to agree, he loved Jack and worried about him, but not enough to start a fight over something so simple.

An hour or so passed and the argument got nowhere so Bunny stood up, and began to walk over to the door. Sandy, who had fallen asleep woke up, looking confused.

"Bunny, where are you going?" North asked.

"I'm going to see Jack. You guys keep up the... discussion. I promised the kid we could finish the game after the meeting."

"You were playing a game with Jack?"

Bunny nodded. "And I didn't expect the meeting to last so long, so yeah, I'm getting back to it," and without waiting for more questions, he left.

He made his way over to Jack's room. He quietly opened the door, poking his head in to check Jack was not asleep. He smiled when he saw the beautiful room. Jack had slowly made the room more and more his since he had gotten to the North Pole.

It was painted light blue, pretty little snowflakes painted on the wall. According to North, Jack had painted one day before going to sleep. There weren't many now, they were so small, but they were easy to spot, beautiful and original.

There was no bed, Jack had instead made a pile of blankets and unwanted cuddly toys into his bed. It lacked almost all furniture in fact. Jack didn't have many belongings, in fact, apart from his clothes and staff, when he had first come to live at the Pole, he had none. He had a few new outfits North had given him folded up and on the window sill. And lots of toys he had collected, toys North saw unfit for children or toys the Guardians had given him.

At this very moment Jack was playing with a toy plane that had failed to fly. Jack had placed a toy dolphin on it and was using the wind to make it fly around the room. He laughed and smiled as the plane pulled off fast and impressive tricks with help from the wind.

Bunny couldn't help but smile as well as he quietly slipped into the room. Jack looked up at the oversized Bunny. Still smiling, he got up, letting the plane land on the floor. "Can we play now?"

Bunny nodded. "That's what I came here for. So what do you want to play?"

Jack looked thoughtful for a second before deciding. "Hide and seek" he announced.

"Well, you got plenty of places to hide here," Bunny said. "I'll count, okay?"

Jack nodded before running off/ Bunny smiled and began to count. It felt strange to play with the kid like this, but Bunny was determined to show Jack that he was no scarier than the other Guardians and this seemed to be the easiest way to do so. Even if it felt really strange.

Jack ran though the workshop, he needed to find a hiding place that was both good yet not in the way. He looked around and grinned when he spotted the rafters. The wind quickly carried him up and he hid himself where nobody would find him.

Bunny finished counting and began his search. Sandy left the meeting and began to help Bunny, North and Tooth gave up on their argument and joined in the game. Even some elves began to play, but nobody could find Jack.

"Kid sure knows how to hide..."

"Let's hope he doesn't go hiding for real."

"May be problematic."

"Okay, Jack, I give up. Where are you?" Bunny called out, hours after the game had begun. There was no reply.

Tooth and North looked at each other, worried. "You think he's okay?" Tooth asked.

"Jack is just playing," North said, looking around.

"Jack!" Bunny called again, his ears twitching as he listened for anything that could help him track down the winter spirit.

Sandy silently laughed, looking up. He could sense Jack's dream. He had obviously fallen asleep at some point.

"Jack!" Tooth called, flying around.

"We have cookies!" North tried.

Phil, one of the yetis, was working on a toy, he rolled his eyes. Looking up at the winter spirit who he had seen hide, he considered telling North. He made his mind up when North asked him if he had seen Jack hide. He nodded and pointed up.

Tooth looked up and flew up, smiling when she saw the golden dream over Jack's head. She carefully picked Jack up. Somehow not waking him up, she flew down and handed Jack over to North.

"You could have told us something, mate," Bunny said to Sandy, smiling as well as he saw Jack. He was dreaming of a dolphin riding an air plane, a very happy dolphin.

"He is so sweet when he sleeps, so happy."

"See, happy, he is okay, we can tell him about Guardians."

Sandy and Bunny gave each other a look, wishing North and Tooth would drop the argument at least until they got Jack back to bed.

"No, see, he is child! We shouldn't tell him about it!"

"About what?" Jack whispered.

Tooth's eyes widened when she saw Jack yawning in North's arms. He looked up at Tooth and smiled. "Good morning."

"Not sure, but was falling asleep a part of the game?" Bunny asked.

Jack laughed. "Not usually, it isn't my fault you're so bad at it!"

"Ain't my fault I can't fly, mate."

Jack laughed, standing up leaning on his staff. "Anyway... tell me what?" he looked at Tooth.

"It is not nothing!" North complained.

"We're not having this argument now, North."

"Isn't my fault you woke boy up."

"Me?!" Tooth looked offended. "You were much louder than me!"

Jack laughed at the argument then looked over to Sandy and Bunny who seemed tired of it. "So... any chance I can get some info from you guys?"

Sandy smiled and nodded, making his own mind up. He tried to explain though pictures, but after a few failed attempts, Bunny decided he would explain. "The thing is Jack, we didn't just go get you that day because of Pitch."

"I see, is there some blizzard I need to sort out or something?"

"Somewhere, I'm sure, but we ain't getting into that," Bunny said, ruffling Jack's hair. He looked at North and Tooth who both had not noticed the conversation going on. "Basically... you understand what Guardians do right?"

"You guys protect the children, protect Wonder, Hope, Dreams and Memories. And fight beings like Pitch who bring them fear. Right?"

"Yep, that's it." Bunny smiled, trying to sound proud. Jack smiled back. "So anyway, all Guardians are chosen by the Man in the Moon, and right now there are five Guardians."

Jack raised an eyebrow. Looking around, he counted as if expecting there to have miscounted or missed someone. "You mean four?"

"Five."

Jack hesitated. "And somehow I gotta relate this to you coming to pick me up from prison?"

Sandy nodded, then laughed silently as Jack tried to figure it out.

"You don't realize how complicated this things are when you know the answer," Bunny commented. Sandy nodded in response. Jack just looked more confused.

Jack looked at Bunny and Sandy, the only thing that came to his mind was him being a Guardian, but he did not want to say it out loud. If he was wrong, not only would he look stupid, but it would make him look like he thought highly of himself. He did not want to make that impression.

"Can you just tell me?"

"We can."

"North, Tooth!" Jack called.

They both turned to look at him when hearing their names, Jack looked up at them and hesitated before deciding on what he would ask. "Who's the 'fifth' Guardian?"

North laughed, Tooth glared at Bunny and Sandy. "Well we can't hide it form him now," North pointed out.

Tooth frowned and shook her head. "So much for reaching an agreement."

"Sorry, Tooth, but the kid was going to find out sooner or later. And besides, North is right, he is ready to know about it. It's not like it changes anything."

Jack just waited for them to tell him, North chucked and hugged Jack. "Jack, you are Guardian!" he announced.

Jack raised an eyebrow, taking in the news. Guardian? Protecting children was something he enjoyed and already kinda did... yet it still sounded somehow wrong. He had always related the Guardians with strong, highly considered spirits. They were the strongest spirits around after the Man in Moon and Mother Nature, everyone knew them, they were listened to by everybody. There was nobody really superior to them.

But now, this still new, winter spirit was meant to be one. Jack had never been paid any attention and definitely wasn't one of the strongest spirits. He was known by everyone but not usually in a good way. But he did love children and he had been living with the Guardians for a little while now.

"So... the Moon chose me? When Pitch returned, while I was still in prison?" Jack asked and Bunny nodded. Jack laughed "I wish I could have seen your faces."

"Pardon?" Tooth was confused.

"I bet they were hilarious, I mean, wow... now who to put in charge of protecting children? Oh I know, the famous murderer alive! That must have gone down well," Jack laughed.

The Guardians looked at each other, at first confused, but then as the memory of it came back, Bunny grinned and they all laughed. "Yeah, we were slightly uncertain, to say the least. Thought you may have a twin brother or something."

"That would be cool," Jack said, laughing.

"Oh no, we got enough with one of ya... now come on ya famous murderer, dinner will get cold," Bunny said, deciding he was hungry.

The other Guardians nodded in agreement and they all enjoyed a family meal, filled with laughter followed by story time in front of the fire. The night ended when Jack fell asleep and North took him to bed. Tooth and Sandy left to go work. Jack was left in his room to sleep and Bunny stayed to chat with North.

North wanted to hear about what Bunny had been doing with Jack all day, happy to hear that Jack was finally warming up to Bunny slightly. Bunny was happy to tell North, it being such good news and all. Bunny was proud of his work and hoped to spend more time with the kid soon.

Jack was definitely fun to hang out with and Bunny felt he owed the kid at least that after all he had put the kid through. He knew Jack would never forget the time in prison, he knew that right now these memories were most of his life. But he also knew that time could fix that, that the kid was immortal, and in time those years would become just a small part of the memories that made up the life of Jack Frost.

But until then, Bunny would play his part, like all the Guardians would, in making it okay. Helping Jack to get used to the world and helping the world get used to Jack. It would be hard, but Jack would be okay. He was okay. Not okay enough, but he was okay. And Bunny couldn't help but respect how strong the kid was. He had survived what no other child, as far as Bunny knew, had ever done. And it would take a lot of time to make up for it. But they had all the time in the world.

Jack was a part of their family. The family that had not existed until Jack came along. But that only made him that much more important. And Bunny would protect Jack, protect him from people like Old Man Winter that had attempted to break the child. Protect him from loneliness and darkness.

Bunny smiled: just a few months ago, he would have thought himself insane, but now... the idea that there was a time when he didn't care, worry and wish to protect the kid seemed foreign. The idea that there had ever been a time he had hated, wanted to hurt the child... Bunny regretted those emotions, would forever regret, forever feel guilty. But he would forever work to make up for them.

He stood up. "North, I'm going to check on Jack..."

North looked up and nodded. "Take him some cookies," North instructed, pointing to the plate on the table in front of the fireplace.

Bunny nodded and grabbed a hand- paw- full before hopping off down the hall. He reached Jack's room and slowly opened the door. Jack was asleep, Bunny entered and approached to see what he was dreaming of, but when he got close the dreams vanished and two blue eyes looked up at him.

Bunny stared down and smiled. "I brought you cookies."

Jack sat up and smiled. "You woke me up in the middle of the night for cookies?"

"You look hungry."

"I always look hungry."

"It ain't healthy."

"It isn't my fault... they always kept me on as little energy as I could live on in the prison, so I couldn't escape."

"They shouldn't have done that, same as they shouldn't have locked you up without giving you all the information... I'll be paying the prison a visit soon, make sure they're following all the rules."

"I think I was one of those strange cases" Jack whispered.

Bunny frowned, not a conversation he wanted to have with the kid, yet the fact Jack spoke of this was a sign of trust. "Spirits don't go bad often, usually the prison is for holding sprites, creatures who work for spirits, like the yetis... except there aren't any yetis in the prison."

Jack nodded. "Old Man Winter is there now?"

"Yes, same cell as you."

Jack looked down. "It's strange, every time I wake up, I expect it to just be some dream, that the chains are still there." He felt his wrists. "Except I never dreamed... I wasn't allowed to."

Bunny cuddled Jack. "Sandy won't let that happen again... nor I. The whole event was a big mistake."

Jack nodded. "But it's over now."

"Yes, it is."

"Bunny...?"

"Yeah..."

"To be honest, I felt really scared of you because... you hated me before, when you thought I murdered... but you're not mean or anything... you're really nice."

Bunny smiled. "I didn't mean to scare ya, mate, I'm sorry about before... I didn't want... I was sure it was you and... then it wasn't. I was the last to believe you and I'm really sorry 'bout that. I'll make it up to you okay, we can even play hide and seek again."

Jack laughed. "I like hide and seek."

"Well, you can have a game of hide and seek for every year you spent in prison, sounds good?"

"Only year?"

"Month?"

"So every thirty days I spent there I only get one game of hide and seek?"

"Not enough?"

"How about... I get to call you kangaroo from now on!"

"A what?"

Jack laughed.

"What did you just call me?"

"Kangaroo."

"I'm not a kangaroo mate."

"Then what are you?" he grinned mischievously.

Bunny grinned too. "I'm a bunny, the Easter Bunny. And you know what the Easter Bunny is going to do to you?"

Jack laughed. "What?"

Bunny grinned and pounced, tickling Jack who laughed and struggled. "Stop it!"

"Only if you promise not to call me a kangaroo ever again!"

"Never!" Jack shouted and the tickling continued until both Bunny and Jack fell asleep in the pile of blankets and toys.


	12. Chapter 12

Jack had been living in the Pole with the rest of the Guardians for two years now. The wind woke him up. As he opened his eyes he was welcomed by the familiar site of the plastic glowing stars that he had stuck on his ceiling and the fur of some cuddly toys. He sat up and smiled.

Two years and he still looked at his room with wonder. After so many years with nothing but grey walls and chains, the beautiful colors of his room were always a warm welcome. He had kept up his tradition of painting a snowflake on his wall before going to bed, there were many more now, still no two the same, still just as beautiful.

His ceiling had been decorated with some glowing stars Jamie had given him one Christmas, they were not as pretty as the real thing but they were still pretty and Jack still smiled up at them as he fell asleep at night. His toy collection had grown bigger, he now kept them in hammocks in the corner of his room, apart from the cuddly and soft ones that got to go on his bed.

His bed was now almost completely just a pile of cuddly toys. There were a few pillows and sheets, but they were barely visible under all the toys. Jack laughed as he cuddled one of his toys close before placing it back on the bed and flying over to the already open window.

The wind was strong and some snow blew into the room. "Good morning wind!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. The wind howled in return making Jack laugh once more before opening the bedroom door and flying off towards the kitchen.

"Morning Jack." North greeted, smiling at Jack as he entered.

"Good morning, North!" Jack shouted enthusiastically, smiling brightly, his eyes filled with the same wonder and hope, the same joy as always.

It made North smile. "Good dreams?"

"Amazing! There were these giant teddy bears that made gummy worms and a submarine!" he shouted, sitting down next to North as he began to tell the story as he ate his breakfast that the yetis had prepared for him.

The yetis seemed as just as amused as North to hear Jack's dreams. North chucked when it was over. "Well Jack, you sure do have a big imagination, no wonder Sandy loved your dreams so much."

Jack smiled. "Sandy loves my dreams?"

North nodded. "He loves every kid's dreams, but yours especially."

Jack looked proud. "Well, I love my dreams too!"

North chuckled. "I think everyone does. So what are you going to be up to today?"

Jack looked thoughtful for a second. "I need to do basic winter stuff first, ya know, spread snow, freeze lakes... then I will start a few snowball fights, make some magic snowflakes, then I'll go play a game in one of the towns. If I have time, I'll visit Tooth in the evening then I'll join you for dinner," Jack said, smiling at his plan.

"Sounds good. Please try and eat something before dinner though. You keep skipping lunch but it is unhealthy to do so, Jack."

Jack nodded. "Okay, North."

"Would you like yetis to make you a sandwich or something so you can put it in your pocket?"

Jack hesitated, before nodding. "Yes please."

North nodded, smiling before telling a yeti to prepare Jack a sandwich. Jack put the sandwich wrapped in a serviette in his pocket. He waved goodbye to North, thanked the yetis, and let the wind carry him away.

He spread his snow; he froze the lakes and ponds and so on, always testing the thick ice before leaving. He started a few snowball fights like he promised: three in Russia, four in China, one in England and when he finished he headed towards Burgess, he decided Jamie would appreciate a visit.

He laughed and landed on his lake skating across it thickening the ice. "Perfect," he smiled, jumping off the lake and into the snow. He began to run through the snow towards the town but something stopped him.

A blur of black caught his eye, running in the opposite direction to him. Jack hesitated, but his curiosity got the better of him and he took chase. For a second Jack thought it may be Bunny, but then he realized a small trail of black sand being left behind. His eyes widened and he shot ice at the black blur.

It stopped, Jack approached it, frozen. He had frozen the Nightmare. Talk about 'déjà vu', Jack frowned running his hands though his hair as he tried to make sense of the Nightmare "Pitch..." he whispered, they never had fully defeated him.

Jack decided it was probably a mistake, Pitch was still recovering and the stray Nightmare had gotten lost and Jack had defeated it, nothing to worry about, all though he would still mention it to North. He was going to leave when black sand wrapped around his ankles, making him fall.

Jack's eyes widened and struck at the sand with his staff, it froze and broke. Jack gasped and looked around; the shadows seemed darker, bigger. "Pitch! Come out!" he shouted.

Pitch laughed "Jack... long time no see," the voice echoed off the trees as if in a cave.

Jack looked around nervously, moving around, not daring his back facing one area for too long. "Pitch, what do you want?"

"Do you really want to hear that whole story again? Didn't I already mention it at the Tooth Palace?"

Jack held his staff tightly. "If you do not see you're fighting a losing battle, you're an idiot!"

"Is that so, Jack?"

Jack didn't reply as he kept moving around.

"If that's so... why so nervous?"

Jack took a few steps back. "I'm not nervous, cautious is what I am."

Pitch laughed. "Yes, of course. My mistake... so, how is life with the Guardians? I hear you've become quite attached."

Jack glared into the shadows. "We are family."

"How cute... yet sad."

"Sad?"

"That you fall for their lies."

"Lies?"

"Yes of course. Family... you think their family, Jack? They're not your family, there your guards, you know, in case you murder someone else."

Jack laughed this time. "You think you can fool me that easy? First, I did not murder anybody, second, they don't guard me at all, in fact, they let me do as I wish. Slightly protective but only in a good way."

"Of course Jack... you've spent several years with them; I will need proper evidence to prove... I can supply that, but not now, and not here. Seems you will have to come with me."

"Not in your dreams! …Nightmares?"

Pitch laughed as black sand began to tie itself around Jack's feet, Jack looked down and raised his staff to freeze it again, but sand grabbed at his staff as wel,l pulling it out of his hands. Jack gasped and scolded himself, looking around frantically.

His froze when he felt cold hands grab his hands, holding them firmly behind his back. He struggled and was going to scream but Pitch let go with one hand, placing it on Jack's mouth. Jack struggled desperately, wishing he could scream for help.

Pitch smiled evilly. Carefully, with a movement of his hands, black sand bond Jack's hands. Another movement and black sand gagged Jack, making him cough. Pitch let go of Jack and stepped in front of Jack, who glared up at him. Jack tried to attack but the black sand around his feet held him to the ground and he couldn't break the bonds around his hands.

"I know what your thinking, Jack, you think the Guardians will come save you... right?"

Jack just glared fiercely up at the older man.

"Well, you may be right... now two things could happen. One, I use you to capture the Guardians or two, they never come and I am given evidence of my earlier point," Pitch explained, sounding proud.

Jack struggled further against his bonds but it was useless. Jack looked over to his staff as Pitch picked it up, looking at it carefully. He frowned. "This is completely powerless, just a simple conduit for your own powers..."

Jack tried to say something but the gag prevented him, Pitch looked Jack in the eyes and then grinned. "A simple conduit that you treasure like nothing else..."

Jack struggled as Pitch held up the staff and he realized what Pitch was going to do. With a quick movement Pitch hit the staff against a tree and it snapped. Jack fell to his knees in unexpected pain. Jack whimpered as Pitch stood over him, amused.

"You are the Guardian of Fun," Pitch said, having fun with Jack.

Jack didn't react to the word. Pitch moved around Jack to a place where he cast a shadow over Jack, opening up a portal though the shadow. Jack fell straight through into Pitch's lair. Pitch looked at the clearing he was in, a frozen Nightmare and Jack's broken staff, that should get the message through.

North was finished with his work as usual and wandered off to see how dinner was going. He smiled when he saw it all prepared and laid out. He thanked the yetis and sat by the window to wait for Jack. Time passed and North began to worry. Jack didn't usually come this late, in fact, he usually came on time. Jack was good with things like this.

He thought about his conversation with Jack this morning, maybe he was still with Tooth. It's easy to lose track of time when with Tooth, her hyper nature. So North decided to pay the Tooth Palace a visit. Grabbing a snow glob,e he was there in a matter of minutes, Tooth was busy at work, shouting orders to her fairies.

"Tooth!" North called and she turned and smiled, waving before flying down to greet him.

"Hello, North, how are you? What brings you here?"

"Hello Tooth, I am fine. I was looking for Jack actually... he said he may visit you today, he is late for dinner you see."

Tooth shook her head. "No, no sign of him here... haven't seen him in a few days actually."

"I see... maybe he got busy, are you busy, would you like to come for dinner? Give Jack happy surprise?"

Tooth smiled, turned and hesitated before nodding. "I would love to, just give me a second," she said while flying off to where she worked from. Quickly she gave her instructions for the fairies while she was absent. They nodded and got back to work.

Tooth smiled flying back down to North. "Okay, let's go!" she said excitedly.

North smiled and nodded throwing the snow globe and they returned to the North Pole. North frowned when he saw Jack still hadn't come. "He isn't usually late..."

"He's probably busy."

"Yes, probably..."

Tooth and North decided to eat, Jack would not be angry. He never was. Besides, Jack may like his food cold but they definitely didn't. They finished their part of the meal and went to the living room, telling the yetis to inform them when Jack got back. At first they chatted, happily telling stories and such. But as time passed, worry began to ruin the otherwise quite relaxing moment.

"Normally Jack would be asleep by now..." North whispered.

"Maybe he is? He might have fallen asleep in a tree or something, he used to sleep in trees and stuff before the prison after all," Tooth pointed out.

North stood up. "I will speak with Sandy. If Jack is sleeping, Sandy will know."

"North... Don't you think you're being a little overprotective, you might upset him?"

"But..."

"Just wait until tomorrow, he may be working overnight. Although sleep is good for him, he's an immortal and can easily go a few nights without it."

North sighed and nodded. "Okay..."

When morning came, North wandered over to Jack's room. He quietly opened the door and let out a sad sigh when he saw the room was empty, his toys untouched. North closed the door and decided he would visit Sandy.

North found the Sandman spreading his dreams. Sandy was always busy, it was always night somewhere. North approached and when Sandy saw him he smiled and wave, forming a question mark with the sand above his head.

"Hi Sandy... I came to ask you, do you have any idea where Jack is? He didn't return to the Pole last night, since you have to give him dreams I was hoping you'd know."

Sandy looked worried and shook his head, forming a bed and a cross above his head.

"Jack did not sleep last night?"

Sandy nodded.

North sighed. "Tooth said he was probably just busy, but I can't help but worry about him, you know?"

Sandy nodded, pointing to himself then holding up two fingers.

North nodded. "I guess I should just wait and see?"

Sandy nodded. He pointed to himself, made a speech bubble with his sand, pointed to North, made an ear with his sand.

"Thanks Sandy," North said. "I hope to see you soon, good luck." North then left.

North forced himself to calm down once he returned to the North Pole and got back to his work. He worked himself hard, harder than usual in an attempt to distract himself. But as the days passed, nothing could distract him from the absence.

It had been a week when North finally went to the globe room and with a sigh he pulled the lever, the northern lights appearing above the North Pole and calling forth the Guardians. Soon the four original Guardians were in the globe room. Only their youngest member was absent.

"Friends..." North began, about to tell them about Jack.

"Hey wait mate, Frostbite ain't here yet, he ain't that late yet."

"I know that, Bunny, but I highly doubt Jack is going to come."

Tooth was the first to react. "Why is that?"

"Remember a week ago, I was worried Jack did not come to dinner on time, I still have not seen him since."

"So your worried about him? Wait did you call us all to the North Pole just cause the kid got lost... kids get lost all the time! He'll find his way home!"

"Bunny, Jack is not simply lost! Jack is smarter than that."

"I didn't mean it literally, point is, Jack ain't here, your overreacting, he probably just got carried away with some game."

"For a week?"

Sandy formed a picture of the bed and a cross like before.

"Without sleeping?" North added.

"He hadn't been sleeping?" Tooth asked Sandy.

Sandy hesitated, then shrugged forming a picture of a bed and a picture above it of a dolphin.

"He hasn't been dreaming," Bunny said. "He was probably just really tired."

"But Bunny, he would come when called," North pointed out, pointing to the Northern Lights.

Tooth sighed. "They have only been there for a little while. Besides, if Jack is in say the South Pole, he may not even be able to see them."

"Why would he be in the South Pole?"

"I'm not sure..."

"I know it looks like I'm overreacting but... I know I'm not, I feel something is wrong, in my belly!"

Bunny rolled his eyes. "We'll wait a bit, if he doesn't show up; we'll search for him, sound good?" Bunny decided.

North nodded. "Sounds like good plan."

Bunny went over to a chair and sat down in front of the fireplace, waiting for Jack to come in through a window panting from having flown too fast and laughing, asking what was the matter. But hours passed and there was no sign of the winter spirit.

"Okay, fine, we'll search for him," Bunny mumbled seeing the time.

"Good... we should split up," North decided.

"Bunny, you can check Burgess and the area nearby, I will check South Pole... Sandy can check Africa and half of Europe, Tooth you do Asia and other half of Europe, okay?"

Everyone nodded and headed out to search their assigned location. North took the sleigh, Tooth and Sandy flew. Bunny took his tunnels. The best thing about splitting up was being able to take their own form of transport in Bunny's opinion.

Bunny was searching around the lake, sniffing the air when he saw something on the ground that drew his attention. He crouched down to inspect it and his eyes widened when he realized what it was: Nightmare Sand. Quickly Bunny ran off, following the sand to a clearing. He felt a shiver go down his spine when he saw the frozen Nightmare and, more importantly, the broken staff.

He hopped over and picked the staff up. Sniffing the air he searched for Jack's scent, it was all over to the staff but apart from that was completely absent. Bunny swore opening a tunnel; he began to run to the workshop as fast as he could to activate the northern lights.

"What is it Bunny?" North asked, entering the globe room at surprisingly the exact same time as Sandy and Tooth.

"I found this... next a frozen Nightmare," he said, showing them the broken staff pieces.

Tooth gasped and Sandy stepped back, North ran forwards taking them from Bunny. He looked at the delicate wood, snapped. Then he let out a roar of frustration. "He will pay for this," he said, clenching his fists around the handles of his swords.

"Pitch has him?" Tooth asked. She knew she sounded stupid, but she didn't really care.

"Sure looks like it," Bunny replied. "He probably caught the kid off guard."

"Do you think his had him this whole time?" Tooth asked wide eyed. "Oh... North you were right! We should have gone looking for him that very night... I hope he's okay..."

Sandy frowned, looking at the open window. There was a huge blizzard going on outside. The wind was angry, very angry. Whatever Pitch had done or was doing to Jack, it was not okay. Wishing Sandy could tell this to the Guardians, he sighed. And let his sadness turn into anger, anger that would make him stronger while fighting Pitch.

North was already leading them all down to the sleigh. This was an emergency and not even Bunny complained as he climbed into the sleigh. All of the Guardians were determined to find Jack. The kid was family and you do not mess with family.

Especially not if that family is formed by a giant sword wielding Russian, a hyper fairy with thousands of workers, a giant rabbit with boomerangs, the most powerful dream maker in the world and Jack Frost, the most powerful winter spirit alive.


	13. Chapter 13

Bunny was the first out of the sleigh when they arrived at the forest in Burgess, near one of the entrances to Pitch's lair, the one Jack had found when taking Sophie home. Bunny growled at the sight of the old bed and threw it upside down, leaving the whole completely uncovered.

"So much for stealth..." Tooth whispered.

"We don't need stealth," Bunny stated coldly, jumping down the whole without a second thought, or much of a first one.

Sandy was second, followed by Tooth and then North. Bunny was already standing in the middle of the main hall, looking up at the cages hanging from the ceiling, expecting to see Jack curled and scared inside of one. Tooth frowned ,looking up at the cages that her fairies had once been locked up in.

"I see you came to visit my humble home, had I a door I would complain about your forgetfulness when it comes to knocking. Seeing as I don't, I'll let you off the hook."

"Pitch." Bunny grabbed his boomerangs. "Where's Jack?"

"I see we're skipping the greetings?" Pitch said, exiting the shadows revealing himself. He stood on one of the higher levels out of the reach of the Guardians, looking bored. "Shame."

"I'm not repeating myself, Pitch."

"Good, it becomes very boring when you do."

"Pitch!"

"No need to shout, the echo is bad enough when you speak... Jack... the little winter spirit, I heard about Old Man Winter, he must have been overjoyed... or was it heartbroken? It's such a strange position, combination of both, maybe?"

Bunny got on all fours ready to pounce and grab Pitch.

"Oh don't look so angry, you might frighten Jack if you're still this angry when you find him. He's so fragile, you know?"

"What have you done to him Pitch?" Bunny demanded.

"You think I've hurt him?"

"You probably hurt him to capture him in the first place."

"That was near unavoidable, but, I haven't gone out of my way to hurt him... left him a few toys, a few nightmares... but I didn't capture to hurt him."

"Then what?"

"Because of you, well not you specifically Bunny, all of you."

Bunny glared. "What do you want from us?"

"I told you this all before at the Tooth Palace."

"You're not going to win."

"You say that now, but this is just plan B, I got a whole alphabet to go through yet. And if that don't work I'll play it like the Spanish academy and use capitals as well."

"If you're strong enough!"

"Desperate to bring down my spirits, are you?"

"Give us Jack back!"

"I plan to, once I get something in return."

"We're not playing a trading game, Pitch. Give us Jack back!"

"Oh but Bunny, we are, you don't seem to get it, Jack is out of your reach, only using the shadows could you find him. Why would I just give him to you?"

"Because if you don't we'll beat you until you do!"

"So harsh... do you not realize that I hold Jack in my reach? A snap of my fingers and the kid's screams will echo off the walls and through my whole home... is that what you want?"

Bunny growled, he wanted to reply, but the thought of hurting Jack stopped him. The other Guardians took a few steps closer, standing beside Bunny. "What is it you want, Pitch?" North asked.

"I want something of equal value, and don't worry, I know how much you value the young spirit... so who will it be?"

"Who?" Tooth's eyes widened.

"Of course, what did you expect me to ask for?"

"The teeth or something..." Tooth whispered.

Pitch laughed. "I do not need to go so far as trading to get them once more. So?"

The Guardians looked at each other hesitantly. This was not an easy decision.

"I will do it," Tooth whispered. "I am the most useless in battle, after all."

"No, Tooth! You have a job... like you said, we are not all so lucky to only work one day a year! You and Sandy need to work, Jack will need North there... I am the most logical option."

"Bunny... Jack will need you too."

"He will need all of us up to a certain point, but he will just have to make do," Bunny whispered and stepped away from the group. "Give Jack back and I'm your prisoner Pitch... until I escape or something."

Pitch grinned. "If," he corrected, then opened up a shadow portal. The Guardians hesitated before entering.

Pitch used his own portal to appear in the room, but he remained in the shadows out of sight. The room was big and dark. The floor was covered in toys.

Bunny looked confused. "You were serious about giving him some toys? I don't understand... the kids loves-" he stopped, he had knelt down and picked up a toy, but now his paw was bleeding badly. His eyes widened as he realized spikes had come out of the toy. "They're all traps..."

North saw this and looked horrified. As a toy maker, seeing such horrid use of toys just wasn't right. He looked into the darkness. "Jack!" he called, looking around then running into the shadows until he found Jack, lying on the floor, curled up into a small ball.

The other Guardians caught up with North. At first nobody understood, but when they did, they gasped, all of them. Jack was cuddling one of the toys tightly, spikes dug deep into his flesh. Blood covered the floor and Jack was crying. Bunny was the first to recover.

"Let go of that death trap!" he scolded Jack, taking the toy away from him, his eyes filling with sadness as he saw it was a toy bunny.

Jack whimpered, reaching out for another toy. Bunny held Jack's arms still. "Stop that," he told Jack off. But Jack didn't seem conscious of Bunny being there, he struggled for a little bit before opening his blue eyes and looking up at Bunny.

At first his stare was blank, confused, but then as he seemed to realize who he was looking at, he gasped and tried to sit up. "Bunny!"

"Calm down, mate," Bunny said, holding him still. "You're injured."

"I-I..." Jack looked around seeing North and Tooth and Sandy. "You came." He smiled.

"Of course we did, mate... what did you think?" He frowned.

"I-I... at first I thought you would come... but then Pitch said... and... I... sorry."

Bunny cuddled Jack close. "We'll always come for ya, okay? Never listen to that Pitch. He'll just mess with your mind."

Jack nodded, cuddling Bunny. "It was just so hard..."

"I know, mate, I know... it's okay, North is going to take you back to North Pole and help ya to heal, Sandy will give ya some nice dreams and you'll be better in no time."

Jack nodded, then looked confused. "Aren't you coming?"

"I... can't."

"Why not?" Jack looked confused.

Bunny hesitated, then decided it be best he told the kid then have Pitch do the honors. "I need to stay with Pitch... in your place."

"What? No!"

"Sorry, Jack... but you are weak without your staff and..."

"Doesn't matter! Don't you see Bunny... I'm weak now, but if he gets his hands on you he will weaken you too, then offer to trade again and eventually weaken us all until none of us can fight! You should have not made a deal with him! Did you not just say not to listen to him!" Jack shouted all this, paused for a second, then started a coughing fit, gasping for air.

Bunny frowned and cuddled Jack. "I know... I'm a real hypocrite, but your too weak to handle this Jack... I know you don't think you are, but your still recovering from the whole prison thing. Even if you don't notice it, we do. And we can't just leave you at Pitch's mercy."

"And we can you?"

"I'm older, stronger... and besides... we have to protect you, you know? Cause we're your guardians as much as we are the Guardians of the children."

Jack looked confused and Bunny sighed.

"North will explain it to you when you get back, but I have to stay, and you have to recover... I'll be okay, and when this is over you can spend a whole week at the Warren playing and painting eggs as a reward. Sound good?"

Jack gave a weak nod as Bunny handed Jack over to North, who held Jack against his chest like a baby. Jack frowned coughed a bit, then closed his eyes, trying hold back tears.

"Promise you'll be okay," he whispered.

"I promise," Bunny replied.

"Good luck..."

"You too," Bunny answered, then looked at North. "Get out of here."

North nodded and he and the other Guardians left, leaving only Bunny behind in the center of the dark, quiet room surrounded by the horrid toys.

Once outside, North rushed to the sleigh, carefully lying Jack down in the back. Jack whimpered and tried to curl in on himself, but Tooth stopped him. "You're just going to move the wound around, you'd best just lie on your back."

Jack whimpered, but as Sandy nodded, agreeing with Tooth he did not complain. North flew the sleigh quickly though the sky, Tooth clung onto Jack's hand, without his staff and his communication with the wind, he began to understand Bunny's fear of the sleigh a bit better. If he were to fall out of the sleigh from this height...

Sandy frowned at Jack's fear. He looked back towards Pitch's lair, the bed frame was now back where it had been before. He guessed a Nightmare had moved it back. He lost sight of the lair when they flew though a portal, the sudden change of temperature making Tooth shudder and hold Jack's hand tighter.

North landed the sleigh quickly. Yetis came to sort out the reindeer quickly. North walked to Jack and carefully picked him up. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I want Bunny back..."

North smiled weakly as he ruffled Jack's hair before walking to the lift, followed by the other Guardians and went to the infirmary, lying Jack down. Jack frowned. "Can't I go to my room?" he asked.

"If you had a proper bed there, you could have."

Jack groaned. "Can my toys come here? Or at least the soft ones?" Jack asked hopefully.

North smiled. "Soft ones, yes," and he wandered over to the door telling a random yeti to bring Jack's toys and a change of clothes.

North then looked at Jack who was lying on the bed. He had definitely lost a lot of blood, but Jack acted quite calm for now, hopefully a sign that he had not hurt any organs.

"Jack can you take your hoodie off so I can take a better look at your wound?"

Jack did not reply, he simply did as he was told, throwing the hoodie to the side before lying back down on the bed. North looked at the wound carefully. "It is deep," he commented.

"That's bad..." Jack whispered.

"Yes..." North looked at it. "I may need to clean it up before being able to say how bad though... You can sleep if you like?"

Jack looked thoughtful, then looked to Sandy. "I won't have nightmares any more..."

"No, you won't."

Jack nodded. "I would like a peaceful rest for once."

Sandy smiled and with a careful movement, some Dreamsand wandered over to Jack, putting him to sleep and forming a beautiful dream above his head. A dream of painting eggs with Bunny.

North smiled. "This did not go as we planned... but Bunny made right choice, he will be okay... Jack may not have been," he said. "The fact he was cuddling the toy in the first place proves that."

Tooth and Sandy nodded in agreement before helping North to clean up the wound, check on it and then bandage it, carefully making sure Jack was comfortable.

North had finished when Jack woke up. The first thing Jack felt was the soft sheet that covered him and his toys that had all been placed beside him. He smiled as he cuddled one close and opened his eyes to see where he was.

North was sitting on the bed next to him, half asleep, Sandy and Tooth were both asleep on the other bed. Jack smiled as he tried to sit up. North blinked, realizing Jack was awake and jumped up.

"Jack!" He helped Jack to sit up. "You shouldn't push yourself."

Jack didn't reply, he looked over to Tooth and Sandy who were both waking up. "How long until I'm well enough?"

"Well enough for what? Sitting up, walking, flying?"

"All."

"Depends: if you rest not as long... it did not reach any organs as far as I can see so it should take around a month, if you have internal bleeding then it could take much longer though. We must keep an eye out for that," North explained.

"A month?" Jack looked up, eyes wide.

North smiled. "I remind you, when we told you a long time ago you had hundreds of years left in prison, you were hyper."

"That was because I didn't know there was an end," Jack rolled his eyes. "This is different."

"Jack, if you can take hundreds of years in prison, you can take a month to recover."

"But what about Bunny?" Jack whispered, looking miserable.

North looked to Tooth and Sandy who both frowned. "We will rescue him, Jack, but you need rest. We will fight this battle without you, don't worry."

"But didn't you say you needed me? That's why you got me out of prison right?"

North nodded. "When Pitch was at full power, yes, but now he is weakened, now he is not as big a threat. We can take him alone."

Jack didn't look very convinced. He tried to sit up straighter, but when he failed, he sighed. "You promise you will be okay? All of you?"

"Of course Jack, we would not leave you alone." North gave Jack a cautious, soft cuddle being careful not to hurt him.

"Thank you..." he whispered, yawning.

"You should sleep more... When you wake again, will you try and eat something?"

Jack nodded, letting North help him lie back down before closing his eyes as golden Dreamsand began to form pictures over his head.

"We must be careful with him, you know how determined he is at times, I don't want him flying off to try and fight Pitch."

"He is too weak, Tooth, he can barely sit up. He could not fly no matter how determined he is," North said, looking down lovingly at Jack. "But I agree that we must take precautions, I don't want him trying anything stupid."

"So, what is the plan for rescuing Bunny?"

North looked doubtful. "Pitch will use Bunny as threat, for sure. We cannot try anything too direct or Bunny could be hurt... we must retrieve Bunny before starting the battle."

"How?"

North thought for a second before looking up. "Are there any other spirits who can travel though the shadows?"

"Perhaps... maybe Jack... the Halloween one, not... the winter one," Tooth suggested.

"No, he has forms of travelling, but I know that shadows are not one of them."

"Fair enough... I can't think of any right now then."

"I see... well maybe... if we capture a Nightmare?"

"Pitch would be informed right away though."

"True... perhaps we should try using a snow globe?"

"Perhaps... but what if it works and Pitch has a trap prepared?"

North sighed. "I don't want to leave Bunny there too long, it is dangerous..."

"He knew that when he volunteered," Tooth pointed out.

"Yes but... we have seen Pitch fight before." He looked to Sandy. "He does not hesitated to kill... That day he would have killed Jack too if it weren't for that outburst of power. Perhaps all of us even."

Tooth flinched at the memory. She remembered Jack falling from the sky, she looked at Jack. Bunny had been angry at the sight of such power, but because of it they were all alive now. She just hoped it was not for nothing.

Before they knew it, a whole week had passed and still nobody had any idea of how to help Bunny. They were all sitting in North's living room, even Jack, he was lying down on the sofa. He had insisted he needed to get out of the infirmary even if only to make him feel a bit better. They had agreed after Jack had begged and even cried, complaining that he felt claustrophobic after spending such a long time in such a small space.

Jack was cuddling a fluffy Bunny close. North had made it for Jack as an Easter gift. It was a replica of Bunny when he was small the year before. When Bunny had first seen it, he said he would rip it to shreds. Jack has used it to tease Bunny. And all though it annoyed Bunny, Jack still loved the toy and he never could bring himself to rip the toy to shreds.

It was a good thing too, it seemed to bring Jack much comfort now in Bunny's absence. North smiled, Jack had kept his promise to rest, he was eating some cookies and hot chocolate the yetis had brought. Half asleep on the sofa, he listened to the others speak, without actually paying attention to what they were saying, nor replying.

"I've got an idea!" Tooth shouted suddenly, making all the Guardians look over to her.

"Idea?" Jack whispered, confused.

"We're so worried about Pitch setting up a trap for us, we should set up a trap for him! We set up a scene that he can't resist going to, then we brighten the place up without letting him shift though a shadow and we capture him, then we trade him with his own Nightmares for Bunny!"

"Tooth... you make it sound much simpler than it really is," North pointed out.

"No, I don't... look we can do it at the Tooth Palace, he said it himself that he would go there to get the memories himself... I can pretend it's a busy day, send big number of fairies out, that way it's easier. Pretend I am working alone... when Pitch attacks, Sandy, who will be hidden, can light up the place and we attack and capture Pitch! See?"

North looked at Sandy, who shrugged and gave a thumbs up, then to Jack who smiled. "Best idea so far," he pointed out.

"But that means leaving Jack alone at Pole?"

"Alone with all this yetis and elves?"

"Okay, well, without another Guardian present."

"I think I'll manage."

"What if he sees Jack as a lot more... irresistible a possibility then the memories. He said it himself, the memories are nothing compared to Jack."

"You give a snow globe to a yeti so he can warn us and we will be there instantly!"

Jack smiled up at North, North sighed. "Fine... we will try plan."


	14. Chapter 14

It was only a day later and Tooth was frantically giving orders to her fairies. Hoping the plan worked, both North and Sandy where hidden far above Tooth. North had a hand in his pocket around a snow globe, all he could think about was Jack and how he was alone.

Sandy frowned seeing this. He made a picture of a snowflake and then a thumbs up. North sighed. "I know, but... it scares me that he be alone. I left Phil in charge of him, Phil likes Jack, kinda..."

Sandy just smiled and nodded, repeating his earlier gestures before returning his attention to Tooth. She had sent over eighty percent of her fairies off to work. All though Sandy wasn't exactly sure how Pitch was supposed to know this and thereby come.

Phil had been put in charge of Jack. He definitely liked the kid, annoying at times but liked him all the same. Jack was currently showing Phil his toys, telling him the name, where the name came from and the personality and stuff of each toy. He sure did have a lot of imagination, it was no wonder North loved the kid so much. Imagination and Wonder were always side by side afterall.

"This one is Phil, I named him after you," he said holding up a giant fluffy white teddy.

Phil blinked then mumbled something in yetish that Jack would not be able to tell if it was good or bad. Jack smiled and cuddled the toy. "I named him after you because I love you," he mentioned, smiling up at Phil.

Phil snorted but ruffled Jack's hair and picked up another toy, handing it to Jack as if asking what this one was called. Jack happily smiled. "This one is called Chrome..." he began.

Phil was listening at first, but stopped when a shadow behind Jack moved in a particularly strange way, he stared at it for a second suspiciously, when it did not move again he shook his head and redirected his attention back to Jack.

"His favorite food is apples and he loved to play the piano." Jack was explaining. Phil nodded, showing he was listening.

Jack cuddled the toy. "Tooth gave me this one," he said. "It was when I first came to make my room a bit brighter, Sandy gave me one too, a golden dolphin!" Jack sounded excited. "Would you like to see? He's one of my favorites!"

Phil smiled and nodded. Jack called them all his favorites, and knew every detail about every one of them. It made Phil wonder if every kid treasured their toys just as much. If they did, it would make all the yetis' work that much more worth it.

Phil was about to ask about another toy when the shadow drew his attention once more. At first he was going to shake it off again as his imagination, but then he recognized the shape of the shadows and his eyes widened. He stood up quickly making Jack gasp and move back. "Phil?"

A laugh echoed around the room, Jack and Phil recognized the voice straight away, Jack's eyes widened and he began to tremble with fear. Phil prepared himself to attack Pitch the moment he exited the shadows, ready to defend Jack. He shouted out something in yetish, ordering who ever heard to get a snow globe and inform North immediately. There were no yetis nearby, but fortunately the elves understood and all though North would not understand them, he would probably guess he was needed at the North Pole if a bunch of elves suddenly wondered into the Tooth Palace.

Pitch grinned as he exited the shadows behind Phil. Jack gasped and pointed. Phil took a second to react, and only turned in time to see the scythe hit him hard throwing him into a wall. He fell to the ground and groaned.

"Phil!" he heard Jack shout. "A-are you okay?" he whispered.

Phil wanted to shout out that he wasn't, his body definitely didn't think he was, but the fear in Jack's voice and the knowledge Pitch was after Jack drove him to follow a very different path, he stood up.

Pitch laughed. "Determined little teddy North has here."

Phil grunted and attacked. Pitch took a step back entering the shadows, Phil looked around, he wouldn't let Pitch attack him by surprise like that again. But of course, Pitch was not after Phil.

Jack let out a scream, Phil looked in his direction to see Pitch holding the boy by his hoodie. Jack was struggling desperately, Phil prepared to attack but soon stopped as Pitch held Jack up higher, threateningly.

"At least your well trained." Pitch whispered, eyeing Jack. "I see they have patched you up."

Jack tried to elbow Pitch but as Pitch kicked Jack in the stomach he stopped struggling and instead just started whimpering. "North will come before you can do anything," Jack whispered.

Pitch raised an eyebrow "Is that so?"

Jack looked away and nodded. Pitch laughed and dropped Jack on the floor. "I take it was a plan, them all being at the Tooth Palace, not sure what they planned exactly but to all be there and leave you alone..."

"I told them I would be aright..." Jack whispered more to himself as if in regret than to Pitch.

"Are you?"

Jack glared and nodded. "They will be back soon, and they'll beat you here and now!"

Pitch laughed once more. "With me standing so tall over you? Isn't that a bit dangerous, one well aimed kick and I could open your wound, one well aimed kick and I could probably break your neck."

Jack backed away against the wall. "Stay away from me."

"Or what?"

Before Jack could reply Pitch was attacked from behind. His eyes widened at the unexpected attack. He struggled, but found himself being held tight by strong fluffy arms. Jack smiled and laughed with relief. "Thank you, Phil."

Phil smiled at Jack before scowling at Pitch holding him tightly and away from the shadows. He looked around for something he could use to restrain Pitch somehow. Jack was leaning on the wall, his hand held his stomach. Pitch had obviously hit the wound quite hard.

Phil didn't have time to restrain Pitch when the door burst open, North came running in swords in hand. He let out a battle cry only to see Phil already having captured Pitch. Tooth recovered before North letting out a sigh of relief. "Well done!" she shouted at Phil, not knowing his name.

Sandy nodded, giving a thumbs up before using his Dreamsand to form a cage that Phil gratefully put Pitch in before sitting on one of the unused bed. He looked slightly exhausted.

"Rest," North told the yeti. "You look like you were injured in battle," he added.

Phil mumbled something in yetish then pointed to Jack. North nodded and then knelt down to pick Jack up, carefully moving him to the bed. "Are you okay Jack? What happened?"

"Not much," Jack reassured. "Pitch attacked, took us both by surprise, he grabbed me thinking he could keep everyone else away from him like that but he got so distracted making fun of me he didn't see Phil coming."

North nodded, he saw Jack was holding his wound. "Did he hurt you?"

"He kicked me, it hurt but I don't think it's anything important."

North looked at Jack, then Phil then Pitch. "I will call a yeti with medical experience to sort Phil out, Jack take your hoodie off, we need to change bandages anyway... Sandy, Tooth can you sort out Pitch?"

Sandy gave a thumbs up and Tooth nodded. "I'll come find you when we finish."

"Good," North said as he helped Jack to sit up and remove the blue hoodie he loved so much.

They all got to work and an hour later Jack, Phil and Tooth were asleep. Sandy was standing guard over Pitch and North was pacing slightly inside the infirmary. He had checked Jack's wound and it had not been reopened, yet North was worried. Pitch had chosen to attack Jack rather than Tooth. North thought it was maybe because of how Jack had betrayed Pitch at the last moment.

He frowned looking at Jack. He wanted Jack to stay out of this battle, he was already wounded. Then again, hopefully there would not be much more of a battle, they would get Bunny back then would attack Pitch leaving him weakened for another few hundred years.

Or at least that was the plan. Of course, after how well their earlier plan had gone, North was not about to fill up with overconfidence over this one. He looked over to Phil; the yeti had only a small cut, not very deep. He had been determined to protect Jack and North felt proud of him.

He looked at Jack. The Dreamsand above his head formed a picture of him and Phil playing, Jack was cuddling the white teddy named Phil close. North smiled, Jack would not forget this easily. Another thing North loved about Jack.

A few hours later when Tooth was awake and North was certain Jack was okay, he left Jack with Tooth and Phil to go see how Sandy was doing guarding Pitch.

Pitch was being kept in the globe room under the moonlight and the light of Sandy's golden sand cage. When North entered, Sandy smiled and waved to him. North waved back, glaring at Pitch who seemed to be pacing.

"Is all well?"

Sandy nodded before forming a snowflake followed by a question mark. North sighed understanding the question and nodding.

"He is okay, but I will not let Pitch touch him again," North said coldly.

Pitch rolled his eyes stopping his pacing and instead just turning his back on the two Guardians, he seemed to be considering sitting down but was unsure. At this North turned to Pitch. "I suppose you can guess why we chose to capture you."

"You want the Bunny back?" Pitch guessed.

"Exactly."

Pitch hesitated, he looked over to them for a second looking thoughtful. Finally he sighed. "Guess I haven't got another option," he mumbled.

"Just be glad you have Bunny, otherwise we would do much more to you for touching Jack!"

Pitch let out a quiet laugh when he heard North speak.

"What is it you find funny?"

Sandy looked nervous, he didn't like this. Pitch grinned. "It's just funny... there was a time when you 'almost' felt pity for him after spending years locked up and alone, yet now the tiniest of things drives you into rage."

"That is in past."

"The past, so they're just memories? Toothiana would surely disapprove."

"Tooth protects the happy and important memories!"

"Sad memories are not unimportant and Jack knows that. Most of his life was in that prison, no matter what you do he will remember it, he will have nightmares when Sandy doesn't notice, cry when he's alone, flinch at flashbacks..."

"He is recovering."

"Perhaps, but it is easier to open a wound than heal it."

"But with care-"

"Care! That kid barely knows the meaning of the word! North, you 'care' for Jack best you can, and I understand that, respect you even! But have you ever seen how real children are taken care of? You took a week to figure out Jack was properly in trouble, most parents of a child that age would take what? A few hours?"

"I was worried in the evening... they told me it was okay."

"Doesn't matter what you tell real parents, they will search far and wide for their baby. That's how it works North, and although Jack is different, he used to be a normal child, he remembers North. And knows very well that things will never be like before."

"That is not true!"

"Yes it is North, because he doesn't see you as a parent, he doesn't see any of you as family! Just friends, team mates."

"You are wrong!" North shouted. As he attacked, his swords broke the Dreamsand as they flew towards the Nightmare King.

Pitch grinned evilly, dodging the attack and with a quick leap he was out of the cage he made it to the closest shadow and was gone, leaving both Sandy and North in shock, that was until a horrible scream filled the North Pole, one far too familiar.

"Jack!" North screamed and ran off, followed by Sandy.

By the time they got to the infirmary it was too late though. Tooth was on the floor, Phil on top of her. Pitch had obviously taken them by surprise, blood stained the bed where Jack had laid, now empty.

"Jack..." North was quiet and first then roared with rage, hitting the wall so hard with his swords that they cracked and broke. He gasped, trying to calm himself down.

Sandy stood next to him, slightly shocked, unsure what to do. He looked to Tooth who had managed to get out from under Phil and was standing up. She looked apologetically at the two. "He took us by surprise," she whispered.

Sandy gave a nod to say he understood before turning to North who was gasping, fists clenched around his swords. His eyes were on his feet. "We need to get him back, Pitch is right about Jack. One nightmare, one well planned nightmare, that's all it takes! I don't want Jack to be hurt again..." he whispered, holding back tears as memories of earlier times came to him.

"We'll get him back," Tooth reassured. "He won't hurt him."

North turned around. "We have no time to waste!"

Sandy and Tooth looked at each other and nodded. North walked fast towards the lift and both followed him. Tooth stopped for a second and told a yeti to help Phil out. Sandy smiled as Tooth caught up, North was preparing the sleigh.

"We will head to Pitch's lair! We will force him to give us both Bunny and Jack back!"

Tooth flew into the sleigh with Sandy, not sure what to say at this point. North didn't even warn them as he moved the reigns. Before they had even left the icy ground North threw a snow globe, causing the sleigh to land, still not flying in the forest. The reindeer dodged tress as they headed towards Pitch's lair. They accidentally pushed the bed out of the way. North didn't even jump onto the ground, he jumped straight into the hole and headed straight towards the main hall, not even checking to see if Tooth or Sandy where following.

"Pitch!" he shouted out.

Pitch soon appeared on the top floor, a sleeping winter spirit in his hand. "Ah, North... oh and Tooth and Sandy as well!"

"Give him back!" North shouted. "Give them both back!"

"Oh such rage! You know, I almost want to throw Jack down, see him hit the ground and hear his bones cracks. But that would be immature, a silly joke overused by bad guys way too much."

"Don't you dare hurt him!"

"You always expect such bad things from me, I almost feel hurt."

"Stop playing Pitch or I'll cut you into tiny little pieces!"

Pitch laughed. "You are so easily angered, North, if only Jack could see," Pitch whispered, looking down at the unconscious child in his arms. Jack was bleeding, his eyes closed tightly, he was whimpering with pain and fear as a horrible nightmare hovered above his head.

North clenched his fists and without hesitation began to try and climb up to where Pitch was. Pitch simply watched amused. "You know if I see you getting close I can just use the shadows and be at the opposite side of the lair, right?"

North roared with anger. "You shall not flee like a coward!"

"I do not flee like a coward, I flee like someone with common sense, something you wouldn't be familiar with. All of you seem to lack it, I worry sometimes if I spend too much time around you I will lose it too."

"If that's the case why not ease that fear of yours by handing Bunny and Jack back!"

Pitch laughed "I represent fear, North, sometimes a bit of it refreshes me, besides, you're all so amusing."

"Pitch, we are not playing some stupid game! You made a mistake to bring Jack into this!"

"Like getting in between a mother bear and her cub, isn't it?"

"I'm not kidding around Pitch! Give him back!"

Tooth flew up to North to try and calm him down. "Sh, it's like a bully, don't let him get to you."

"He had not gotten to me he has gotten to Jack!"

"I know and we're going to get him back, just calm down."

North took a deep breath and nodded. "You are right."

Tooth cuddled North, her head on North's shoulder, she whispered as quietly as she could so Pitch would not hear. "Sandy had gone to get Bunny," and with that she let go and turned to Pitch.

"You won't get away with this, you should have waited until you were stronger," Tooth said to him.

"Perhaps, but too late for that now isn't it? I appreciate the worry through."

"Jack!"

North and Tooth turned to see Bunny running as fast as he could, Sandy right behind him. His fur was messy and unkempt. He had a few cuts and was obviously exhausted, but despite that he jumped up the walls with no problem and pounced at Pitch, not having his weapons.

Pitch, who had been taken by surprise, dropped Jack as he was thrown to the floor. Before Bunny could do any real damage he vanished into the shadows. Sandy and Tooth quickly flew up to Bunny.

"Bunny, are you okay?" Tooth asked, looking him over.

Bunny growled. "I'm fine," he said giving his fur a quick lick. "He didn't seem to know what to do with me, I think he just saw me as one less enemy to battle," Bunny said. He was obviously angry.

"You don't look fine..." Tooth whispered.

"I haven't had a good night rest or food in a week, I'll be fine." He looked over to Jack. "Can't believe he went after Jack when he was already injured. The bastard is even worse then I thought."

"I know... we should get out of here, he may not be gone for long," she said, Sandy nodded and carefully, he changed Jack's nightmare into a dream before picking him up on a cloud of Dreamsand and they all went down to where North was. North smiled and ran over to Sandy to get Jack.

"We need to get out of here, North," Tooth said, desperately.

North nodded. "We will sort Pitch out later!" he announced, before leading the way towards the exit. Bunny was right behind him followed by Tooth. Sandy stood at the back looking back, expecting to see Pitch. He did, just as they were about to leave, glaring at them but not attacking.

They left the lair and quickly arrived at the sleigh. North handed Jack to Sandy who sat in the back seat with him, Bunny and Tooth just in front and North driving of course. They left quickly and before they knew it, were at the North Pole.

Jack was lying in his bed from before with North checking his wound worriedly. It seemed it had merely been reopened and not actually deepened, it would slow the healing slightly, but it would not bring any more pain or trouble to Jack.

Bunny was lying down in the bed next to it. Although he had refused, Tooth, Sandy and North all agreed Bunny was not perfectly fine. Even if all he needed was rest, it would be best he took it. Tooth had helped him to clean his wounds up and finally after eating some carrots, he had fallen asleep.

"You know, Bunny may not be a child like Jack but he sure is stubborn as one," Tooth sighed, sitting down on the side of Jack's bed.

"Yes, I agree. But he would not be Bunny if he were not stubborn."

"I know. I wouldn't change him, it's just hard work at times."

"Family is hard work, but as long as we are all safe it is worth it," North said with a smile.

"Family..." came a weak whisper from behind North. He turned to see Jack attempting to sit up.

"Jack! Lie down for goodness sake," North said, trying to hold Jack down. Jack whimpered as he saw North as if scared and he blinked.

North saw this and wasn't sure how to react, but then Jack calmed down. "North..." he whispered. "What happened?"

"Pitch got you, it's okay though. We got you and Bunny's back too."

Jack smiled. "That's great," he whispered. He sounded weak and he wiped his tear filled eyes.

"You okay Jack?"

Jack gave a small nod "I just... nightmare..."

"Pitch was giving you one when he first caught you, it wasn't there for long."

"I know."

"Was it bad?"

"Terrible..."

North frowned and gave Jack a cautious cuddle, careful not to hurt him. Jack smiled and cuddled him back, before frowning as he thought about it. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I... you know when I was in prison?"

"Of course, Jack."

"It was horrible, I was all alone, I mean... I was always sort of alone, with nobody really seeing me and all, but at least people where there then, even if they didn't acknowledge me. But in the prison, all I knew was the darkness of the blindfold and the chains. I couldn't even lie down... you remember I didn't get food, I didn't even get that kind of comfort. And I didn't have dreams."

Sandy looked sad at the mention of dreams. North remember the food being one of the conditions. The thought that Jack didn't even get some guard coming into feed him was a horrible thought. It was no wonder Jack had been so terrified about going back there after his time fighting Pitch.

"I-I... I knew I deserved... or I believed I did, but... it was still so scary. I-I... I thought I was going to go insane, from the darkness and loneliness."

North's eyes widened. As his heart missed a beat, he grabbed Jack's hand, as he thought about what he had just been told. Although Jack was sane now, thinking about it, a hundred and seventy years with nothing but one's own thoughts…

"It's a miracle you didn't..." he whispered.

"Remember when you came and got me? To fight Pitch?"

"Could never forget it..."

"In the nightmare... I did go insane and when... when you came to get me... I-I, I broke free and attacked, I killed you, all of you," he whispered, tears streaming down his face, his heartbeat fast at the memories and terror.

North hugged Jack. "Sh, it's okay, that never happened Jack, it was just a nightmare."

"It was horrible."

"I know, but it's over, it never happened and never will."

"It felt so real..."

"It wasn't, and as long as I live you won't ever see that prison again. Is that understood Jack?"

Jack gave a small nod, cuddling North. "I'm sorry, North... I'm sorry..."

"There's nothing for you to be sorry for, Jack... it's okay."

Jack cuddled up to North and cried, whispering constant apologies. Both Tooth and Sandy watched sadly, every once in a while trying to help North comfort Jack. Eventually Sandy managed to put Jack to sleep, a sweet dream of family and happy memories dancing above his head. His breathing calm, his heartbeat normal, he just needed to stop shaking and he would be perfect.

"Pitch sure knows how to shake someone up," Tooth whispered, a small hand stroking Jack's hair in an attempt to comfort him.

Sandy nodded, as did North "I won't let Pitch do that again."

"Hopefully we can defeat Pitch and not see him for another hundred years or so," Tooth whispered.

"Hundred years is nowhere near enough."

"Agreed."

Sandy and Tooth both went off to guest rooms to sleep after some time and North fell asleep in a chair in between the two beds. Jack had calmed down completely and slept peacefully, every once in a while rolling on his side, making North have to get up and lie him back down on his back.

Bunny was also having a sweet dreams about carrots and Easter; he was painting eggs with help from Jack and Sophie. This had become a little tradition every Easter. It made Bunny look forwards to Easter even more then he used to.

The hours passed and as morning came both Bunny and Jack woke up. Tooth and Sandy returned to the infirmary and North laughed happily. They were all safe and together. There was nothing more he could ask for at this very moment.


End file.
